English Premiership
Arsenal star ready for Chelsea
2011-10-26 20:08
London - Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen insists he is ready to face Chelsea in Saturday's London derby after suffering an injury scare in his first match for two months.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger feared Vermaelen would miss the trip to Stamford Bridge after the Belgian came off with a calf problem in the closing minutes of Tuesday's 2-1 League Cup win over Bolton at the Emirates Stadium.
But Vermaelen, who had only one training session before playing against Bolton following his spell out with an Achilles problem, is adamant the injury was just cramp and he hopes to feature this weekend.
"I feel great," said Vermaelen. "I trained on Monday with the team and I felt good straight away so I felt confident for Tuesday.
"Personally I don't believe in needing games to regain sharpness. If I come back from injury after a long time I don't believe in coming back and getting rhythm.
"I think it is just in your head and a mental thing - if you are a football player you have to be there straight away.
"That's why I wanted to play and I think it's good. It was great to be back and to get time on the pitch. I felt fresh, I'm okay and am available for Saturday."
After a rocky start to the season, Arsenal have won seven of their last eight matches in all competitions and can close the gap on Chelsea to just three points with a win this weekend.