Vermaelen: Fab was fabtastic

Defender Thomas Vermaelen paid tribute to captain Francesc Fabregas after the Spaniard's match-winning display against Aston Villa.

Fabregas, who was deemed not fit to start the match after just recovering from a hamstring injury. He replaced midfielder Denilson and scored two goals to break the deadlock on the way to the Gunners' 3-0 win.

However, it seems that the exertions of putting his team ahead was too much for the recovering Catalan, who aggravated his injury and had to be substituted towards the end of the match.

Vermaelen said: "He was great. He had an injury and he did everything to make this game. He's a fantastic player.

"We didn't create as many chances and when he came on he gave us more opportunities to score.

"We had a good game and I think we deserved to win. It's a good result for us.

"Aston Villa became tired in the second half and you see the result. We defended well today as a team."

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