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Club Focus – Arsenal – Vermaelen’s season is over, but is Arsenal’s?
For over two weeks Arsenal have been looking to move on from the Carling Cup final defeat. With disappointment and bad news appearing to lurk around every corner, there was one final unpleasant surprise ahead of the trip to face West Bromwich Albion. Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Thomas Vermaelen will not return to action this season and will miss Arsenal’s title run-in.
With his announcement, Wenger has sought to draw a line under one of the most protracted injury sagas in recent memory. Far from being a catastrophic injury such as that suffered by Aaron Ramsey, the simple lack of a clear diagnosis and prognosis was the most frustrating aspect for player and club alike. Just as the misdiagnosis of Robin van Persie’s ankle injury delayed his recovery, the failure to ascertain the true cause of the problem has lengthened Vermaelen’s absence. Once the troublesome tendon had been located and removed, there was a renewed sense of hope that a return was imminent.
In keeping with recent events at the club, these hopes were dashed. Wenger announced: “For Thomas Vermaelen the season is over,” before confessing: “I never expected him to be fit before the end of the season.” The manager seemingly allowed the speculation to continue for this long for both the morale of the player and that of the fans. Given the club’s recent exits from the cup competitions, questions of leadership have arisen and the thought of Arsenal’s talismanic stopper returning was beneficial to a squad whose mental resolve is being sorely tested. Similarly, his return would bolster a threadbare defence recently shorn of Johan Djourou, another talisman of sorts, who has not been on the losing side in the league since 2008. But now, Wenger has moved to quash these hopes, along with the Swiss FA’s optimistic estimates for Djourou’s return, as Arsenal cannot afford to be lamenting their respective absences as they approach the title run-in. Arsenal’s season has rapidly transformed from the dream of an unprecedented quadruple into a tale of collapsing alternatives. Rather than focusing on who is absent, the current crop must display the kind of ‘mental strength’ the manager has staked his reputation on them possessing and step up to the plate.
While a trip to face relegation candidates and owners of the league’s second most generous defence West Brom may appear just the tonic for the Carling Cup hangover, it is worth remembering that the Baggies beat Arsenal 3-2 at the Emirates in September. West Brom missed a penalty in the first-half and raced into a 3-0 lead in the second, meaning a late Samir Nasri brace proved too little too late. The Gunners will need more than a late flourish from Nasri this time, especially in light of Cesc Fabregas’ failure to recover in time for the trip to the Hawthorns. In their last meeting, a sluggish start was to blame and Arsenal must come out with all guns blazing this time to prevent a repeat and get their campaign back on track.
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