Gunners can answer critics, says Vermaelen
The battle at the top of the Barclays Premier League was previously seen as a two-horse race between Chelsea and Manchester United until Arsene Wenger’s men put together four successive wins to get within two points of the summit, then they were tipped to crash out of Europe this week but overturned a first-leg deficit with a 5-0 win against Porto.
“We’re been written off twice already I think,” said Vermaelen.
“We’re still in the race for both things, for the league and the Champions League, but you have to stay focused on every game and the next game is Hull City. You have to win every game.
“We will see at the end of the season. You have to focus every game and we’ll see where we are at the end.”
Arsenal’s resurgence has been without Robin van Persie after the Holland forward damaged ankle ligaments in November, while against Porto they were missing the influence of skipper Cesc Fabregas.
Fabregas is rated as “50-50” by Wenger to face Hull at the KC Stadium at the weekend.
“Cesc is really important for us but we have a lot of good players in the squad who can fill in his place,” Vermaelen said.
Vermaelen’s defensive partner William Gallas was also absent on Tuesday, and now Roma have stepped up their bid to sign Gallas by sending dealmaker Daniele Prade to London.
The Serie A club’s sporting director was at the Emirates for Arsenal’s destruction of Porto and is keen to reach a pre-contract agreement with the France international.
Gallas, 32, is set to become a free agent in the summer and has been so far unable to agree a deal to stay with the Gunners. Arsenal are prepared to break their policy of offering players aged over 30 one-year deals, but Gallas will have to take a pay cut.
Meanwhile the emphatic 5-0 victory over Porto came courtesy of Nicklas Bendtner’s hat-trick, three days after he missed four clear-cut chances in the victory over Burnley.
“As a striker you have to stay confident all the time because there are some games when you don’t score,” Vermaelen said. “Against Porto he responded brilliantly.
“He is still young. He’s here at Arsenal so that means he has a lot of qualities. On Saturday he was still confident and I appreciate that because for a striker you have to be like that all the time,” said the Belgium international.
Victory against the Portuguese champions booked a place in the last eight of the Champions League, with Vermaelen adding: “I’m convinced we can win this competition.”
Andrey Arshavin, who set up three goals against Porto, does not mind who Arsenal get in the quarter-finals.
“Honestly, It doesn’t matter for me,” he said. “We should play our own football against any opponent.”
Emmanuel Eboue, who scored the fourth goal against Porto, is also determined to go one better than last season when they reached the semis.
“I think if we continue to play together like against Porto then why can we not do something?” he said.
Eboue was jeered by his own fans last season but is now a cult hero and wants to end the trophy drought.
“I never said I wanted to move,” he said. “I have got two more years with Arsenal and I feel very well here. I want to win something for the club because they have helped me a lot, so I want to win something for them.
“Arsene Wenger is always with us when we have a bad day so for me I think he is like our Daddy so we are all happy to play for him.”
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