Vermaelen is Back

Whilst Thomas Vermaelen may have been substituted early on in Arsenal’s Carling Cup victory in midweek, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger expects him to make a full recovery in time for the big match against Chelsea.

The Belgian international had only just returned to first-team action, but lasted just over an hour before he had to be taken off on Tuesday night. Thankfully this has proved to be nothing too serious, and he has the chance of lining up alongside Per Mertesacker in the heart of the Arsenal defence against Chelsea on Saturday.

“Vermaelen might be available to be in the squad,” Wenger told the club’s official website.

“We’ll have to assess him. He is not injured. He came off with a calf problem on Tuesday in the Carling Cup.

“It was cramp because he has not played for a long time and he only had one training session. As I say he is not injured but he might be a little bit short for a game of that intensity.”