There’s no telling exactly how important Per Mertesacker has been for Arsenal this season. The man is an absolute giant, who’s unbeatable in the air, powerful and extremely well organised. Since arriving at the Emirates, he’s revolutionized the club’s back four, become a leader and helped Laurent Koscielny accelerate his development.
This year both Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny have been particularly impressive, helping grant Arsenal the platforms they need to go on and win games.
That’s the reason why Arsenal fans were so nervous to see that Mertesacker had been sidelined with a virus for the Gunners’ big clash against title rivals, Manchester United. The truth is, Arsenal look a lot weaker without their big German.
Unsurprisingly, the Gunners lost 1-0, thanks to a set-piece that should have been dealt with a little better.
But that’s not to say that fill-in centre-back Thomas Vermaelen performed badly. In fact, I was rather impressed with his performance, given the lack of regular football he’s had in recent months.
The Belgian charged into tackles, pulled off a number of good tackles and demonstrated his aerial dominance multiple times. He certainly wasn’t at fault for Arsenal conceding (Aaron Ramsey on the other hand…).
In fact, given his lackluster performances last year (his clumsy showing against Bayern Munich being the nadir), it was rather nice to see him playing well. It was equally pleasant to see that he’s not thinking about leaving Arsenal this January:
“I keep reading stories that I want to leave. But that’s not the case. I’m still focused on the team. I am always positive. In any case, it is not about my situation. It’s what the team do and I am really happy that we’re top of the league.” (Source: The Star)
That’s great to see. Given his lack of action this year and the approaching World Cup, I wouldn’t have been surprised to hear that he’s weighing up his options. Instead, he’s doing the brave thing and staying to fight for his place. The man certainly has a good attitude:
“I always make sure I’m mentally ready and physically ready to play, so it wasn’t difficult. I knew it could happen at any moment so I’m always ready. I’ve been saying it for weeks and months and all of a sudden it happened.”
At 27-years-old, Vermaelen has many good years ahead of him. Let’s hope he spends them with Arsenal.
What’s your take? Will Arsenal be able to keep Thomas Vermaelen?
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