Wenger: Vermaelen must fight for a place

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has warned Thomas Vermaelen he cannot expect to be the first name on the team sheet simply because he is captain.

The Belgian centre-half was, along with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, left out against Bayern Munich in midweek, but could return for today’s trip to Swansea.

Despite the importance traditionally placed on the armband within the English game, Wenger insists his skipper must sometimes be prepared to make way for the good of the team.

“In England, it is true the captain is a massive importance,” said Wenger, whose previous Arsenal skippers were Tony Adams, Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, William Gallas, Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie.

“But [the] one who is a captain and a leader, that shouldn’t guarantee you a place in any game. For purely sporting reasons, or tactical reasons when you don’t think it is the right selection, do you put the player because he is captain? That is disrespectful to the guy who doesn’t play. For sporting reasons it is not completely justifiable.”

Swansea have won the last two Premier League meetings between the sides and have lost just once at home to one of the Premier League’s current top six since being promoted. Swans full-back Angel Rangel wants that form to continue during the run-in.

He said: “The Liberty has always been a fortress for us and it needs to be until the end of the season. We have five home games left this season and we want to get as much out of them as we can.”