Source: Daily_Mail
No doubting Thomas! Boss Wenger hails new Arsenal defender Vermaelen
Flying start: Vermaelen (left) celebrates his debut goal against Everton with Nicklas Bendtner
Arsene Wenger admits he is surprised at how quickly Thomas Vermaelen has settled in to his Arsenal defence.
The Belgian international, who reportedly cost the Gunners £10million when he was signed from Ajax in the summer, made a scoring debut last Saturday in the 6-1 win over Everton at Goodison Park.
Vermaelen, 23, was again impressive in last night's 2-0 Champions League play-off win over Celtic at Parkhead which puts the Gunners well on the way to the group stages ahead of the second leg at the Emirates Stadium.
The Arsenal boss said: 'Yes, I am surprised 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 claimed defender William Gallas is in the best form of his last two years and praised midfielder Alexandre Song.
'In the last two games Song has played extremely well,' said Wenger. '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.'
