Vermaelen appeal fails

ARSENAL defender Thomas Vermaelen, pictured, must serve a one-match suspension after his appeal against the red card received in Saturday’s victory over West Ham was rejected.

Vermaelen was dismissed in the 2-0 Premier League win at the Emirates Stadium after referee Martin Atkinson judged his foul on Guillermo Franco prevented a goalscoring opportunity. The FA heard the claim for wrongful dismissal but decided Atkinson made the correct call.

Vermaelen, 24, now misses Saturday’s trip to Birmingham. Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger must now decide who will replace Vermaelen against Alex McLeish’s side.

William Gallas continues to be sidelined by a calf strain with Sol Campbell deputising, so Wenger may be forced to turn to veteran Mikael Silvestre to form a partnership that will have a combined age of 67.