Source: London_Paper
Arsenal manager Arsene wenger hails Thomas Vermaelen after Celtic win
ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger was quick to praise the impact of Thomas Vermaelen, following the Gunners' 2-0 win over Celtic in the first-leg Champions League play-off.
The £10m summer signing was on the scoresheet in Arsenal’s 6-1 drubbing of Everton at the weekend and was inspirational as the Gunners kept a clean sheet at Parkhead last night.
Arsenal’s defence was heavily criticised last season after they leaked more goals than any of the other ‘big four’ sides.
But Wenger is delighted with Vermaelen’s start to his career at the Emirates Stadium and the blossoming on-pitch relationship with ex-captain William Gallas.
The Arsenal boss said: "Yes, I am surprised [how quickly Vermaelen has settled in] but we saw that he had the physical strength and mentality to cope and when he was needed he came in.
"I believe he has a good mix of the physical and technical for a centre-back and it is interesting to have a left-footed player because he gives you angles for the pass which are very important for the midfielder."
Wenger also described defender William Gallas as "in the best form of his last two years", and praised midfielder Alexandre Song.
The Frenchman said: "In the last two games Song has played extremely well.
"He can win the fight, not only with the physical strength but he has that sense, he can nick the ball from the opponent without fouling and that is an interesting quality."
Arsenal took the lead through a fortunate deflected goal from Gallas in the 43rd minute and doubled their tally in the second half when Celtic skipper Gary Caldwell diverted a Gael Clichy cross into his own net.
And Wenger conceded his side’s goals were fortunate but their performance earned a bit of luck.
He said: "It was a fierce battle. We dominated the game, but Celtic were always fighting and counter-attacking and in the end, despite being in control, we scored two lucky goals.
"But yes, of course, we merited the good fortune.
"I concede that we were lucky with the goals but we had plenty of opportunity in the first 15 minutes of the second half.”
The Arsenal manager was also quick to praise the Celtic Park atmosphere.
He said: "The crowd was up for it and the team was up for it and if it had been an average performance from Arsenal we would not have won the game.
"The atmosphere was better than the Premier League and people were fair.
"Celtic were organised and even at 2-0 they never gave up."
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