Vermaelen moved to left back for Everton contest

Arsenal were forced to shuffle their defence for this afternoon’s Barclays Premier League clash against Everton at Emirates Stadium.

Andre Santos suffered an ankle injury in the midweek Champions League defeat at Olympiacos, so Thomas Vermaelen moved out to the left, with Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker in the centre.

Veteran Manuel Almunia returned to the bench after injury to both reserve keepers Lukasz Fabianksi and Vito Mannone in Greece, while midfielder Mikel Arteta faced his former club.

Everton were looking to spoil Arsenal’s 125th anniversary celebrations, and had striker Louis Saha fit again after a thigh problem.