‘United game a big opportunity for us’

Thomas Vermaelen says Wednesday night’s match against Manchester United offers Arsenal a major opportunity to “show what we are capable of”.

The Gunners come into the clash against the champions on the back of a disappointing 5-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.

But following Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday, Arsene Wenger’s side could move back into top spot with a victory against United. And Vermaelen is confident his side will take their chance.

“This is another big game for us - an opportunity to show what we are capable of in front of our home crowd,” the captain told the official matchday programme. “It’s a great chance to demonstrate that we have the character to get right back on course. We’ve played many good games this season and if we produce another then Saturday will soon be forgotten.

“It goes without saying that United will give us a very serious test. People might talk about positions in the league table, but it doesn’t matter where you are or what your previous game was - they are a big club and we’ll need to be at our best to get the right result.

“It will be about how we play, how we handle the situation, and there is plenty at stake for us.

“As well as banishing the Liverpool game from our minds, we’ll be looking to better our performance from the match at Old Trafford in November. It was a tight game but we weren’t at our best; a few of the guys weren’t very well on the day, but we weren’t dangerous enough overall and, despite our possession, didn’t threaten them enough to score.

“It wasn’t our best game attacking-wise, so I hope we can show that side of ourselves on Wednesday evening.”