Arsenal fans react on Twitter to Thomas Vermaelen performance

 

Thomas Vermaelen made only his second Premier League start of the season in the 0-0 draw with Chelsea.

Despite rumours Laurent Koscielny could be rushed back into the starting line-up following positive progress on his knee injury, Arsene Wenger elected to go without the Frenchman.
And with good reason, after all his captain has been sitting on the bench waiting for his chance, and Thomas Vermaelen was determined not to let it slide.

The Belgian helped the Gunners keep a clean sheet against a dangerous Chelsea side who are always capable of scoring despite their striker issues, and registered more shots on goal than Arsenal.
It was only Vermaelen's second Premier League start of the season, the first coming in the 1-0 loss at Manchester United, and he appeared comfortable alongside Per Mertesacker in defence.
The 28-year-old is a vital member of Arsenal's squad in the push for trophies and as Koscielny's knock showed he is just one unfortunate moment away from getting a run in the first team.
What he has to do is seize his chances and give Arsene Wenger a real selection headache, and display the impressive form he did when he first joined The Gunners.
He was calm in possession against Chelsea, completing 98 per cent of his passes, including five out of five long balls.
Vermaelen also made two successful tackles, and four interceptions - teammate Mertesacker didn't make a single interception.
The captain also made a team high 13 successful clearances, although one criticism can be that he won just one aerial duel while opponent Fernando Torres won seven.
Whoscored.com rated Vermaelen as Arsenal's most impressive performer, with Arsene Wenger shown that there certainly was no reason to rush Koscielny back.
With Vermaelen back into the first team as a starter for the first time since early November we took to Twitter to see what Arsenal fans were saying about him...