The Belgian is determined to prove to Wenger that he deserves a place.
After making the defender’s first Premier League start of the season on Sunday, club captain Thomas Vermaelen says the Belgian has a future at Arsenal.
With Per Mertesacker picking up a bug before the match with Manchester United the 27-year-old was asked to fill in in what was only the centre-back’s seventh appearance of the campaign in all competitions.
The Gunners lost the match and Vermaelen looked rusty and is unlikely to keep the place in the side when the towering German returns, yet the Belgium international insists there is still at the Emirates Stadium.
“I’m still confident I can play for this club,” the skipper was quoted by ITV.
“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.”
It’s been quite a rapid fall from grace for Vermaelen, with the defensive ace being considered one of the best in the league not that long ago.
Yet in the past two years the Belgian has fallen out-of-favour with manager Arsene Wenger and is now limited to a handful of opportunities.
With the World Cup approaching next summer – the first time Belgium will be competing since 2002 – Vermaelen will be keen to show the centre-back is ready; particularly when the competition consists of Vincent Kompany, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld.
Wenger however is likely to put Mertesacker back into the starting XI if the 30-year-old is fit again after the international break.
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