McNab: We've missed Vermaelen

Former Arsenal defender Bob McNab says that the club has sorely missed the presence of Belgian international Thomas Vermaelen this season.

Vermaelen, fondly known as the 'Verminator' by the Emirates faithful, has been unavailable for the majority of the season due to an Achilles injury.

Writing on the club's official website, McNab said: "Thomas Vermaelen has been sorely missed. I still think we need a big man next to him, but I like Thomas a great deal.

"It'll be interesting to see how he comes off this injury. It's been a long time out so it'll be a while before he's really on top of his game again.

"It's not just getting back to fitness, it's getting confidence in your fitness and then confidence in your performance.

"It's hard to say how much of a difference he could have made. You just never know. I think there has been more than one problem defensively this season.

"Frank McLintock and I would have been frustrated in the current side because the midfield is very, very creative, but one has to remember that half the game is defending. You've got to be able to defend and close games out.

"But Johan Djourou hasn't done badly and in Wojciech Szczesny, I think we might have found a goalie."

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