Arsene Wenger admits he won’t go changing the centre-back partnership of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny just for the sake of it despite the fact his captain, Thomas Vermaelen, has barely played in the last eight months.
The Belgian international revealed this week that he’d spoken to Wenger about his lack of game time but with one eye on his country’s World Cup campaign confirmed he’ll reassess his situation in January if he’s still not playing.
Touching on the situation at his pre-Norwich press conference, Wenger stated:
“Vermaelen is my captain so I rate him but it’s difficult to change the current pair. Unfortunately when you have 20 good players, nine good players don’t play.
“That is the job of the players, to compete. We are in a job where you have to be ready when you are needed.
“The big players want to be with big players; the disadvantage of being with big players is that you are not that sure you play.
“I named him [Thomas] captain because he is a player you rate and a player with good behaviour as well. He is a top guy with a fantastic attitude.”
In seasons gone by Thomas might at least have sealed some game time at left back but with Kieran Gibbs less injury prone and a full Spanish international providing back-up he’s not had a look in.
Of course, as the games pile up it’s highly likely Vermaelen will get his chance to shine. He’s nailed on to play against Chelsea in the Carling Cup in ten days time – not an insignificant fixture – while he is experienced enough to know that injuries could strike the squad at any moment and he could be thrust into the action.
Gotta feel for Vermaelen!
He needs to be playing and enjoying his footie.
I call fusing with Flamini to create the ULTIMATE FLAMINATOR!!
I believe the real term we’re looking for is DEPTH
Fair do’s, Verms handling this like a gent but bar injurys to our defensive stronghold, somethings got to give and I can’t see him hanging around on the bench with the odd league cup appearance past this season. Having the official team captain unable to get into the starting XI is just another of those farsical situations which makes Arsenal so damn endearing to follow.
Hope Vermaelen stays, he is a terrific center-back and it would be a big loss to not have him in the team. One injury or suspension is all it takes for him to get back to the team, and with our record of injuries it wouldn’t be that big surprise if we had to field him sooner rather then later.
This is the problem with having 3 international standard cbs. How long will he want to play second fiddle.
Vermaelen should not complain he let that c**t RVP score via a stupid error last season, enough to be put in a dungeon cell for a season. L.Koscielny is non the wiser, he seems to just want Arsenal to concede with those stupid lunges in the box this season.
Vermaelen needs to take his chance when it comes. I tend to feel bad for him but there’s no room for sentiment in football.
Merterscielny? Don’t you mean Kozzersacker?
I am so happy thAt we have superb options that can keep out excellent players like Verminator and Monreal!
Vermaelen is our depth..dat should spice him up. Not many players get lucky to put on d red and white jersey. COYG
Vermaelen + Flamini = Flaminator?
Vermaelen + Flamini = Vermini
Not sure I like the sound of that…
Vermaelen + Flamini = Vermaelamini
life is such.
So this is what having too many top quality feels players feels like, hmm i quite like it!:-D
Don’t go changing (Arsene) to try to please him,
We love Merterscielny the way they are,
Oooh oo oooh…
easy to forget we had sagna start at center back this season in the earlier games. Vermaelen is essential. Firstly, he isn’t even as good as everyone thinks. His goals mask his true abilities to defend. But he is half decent so we need him. I don’t mind seeing him start if he improves but right now he has to wait it out, be patient and when his time comes, perform for us.
he is better than you make him out to be.
One comment mentions TV5 is handeling this like a gent but I am not so sure. He metions that he will look at his options in Jan if he is not playing.
It’s not like he’s got nothing to be getting on with. There are/were plenty of mistakes in his game that he can be working on while he’s not playing…
Vermaelen is a brilliant defender but also a capable forward. I would love to see him replace Giroud in the jast 20 mins of a game. He is able to hold the ball and to finish.