Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen is of the opinion that the grit and spirit that Arsenal showed in the comeback win over Wigan in the FA Cup semifinals will help them finish in the top four. Arsenal have been concentrating on the FA Cup semi-final for the last few weeks. This coupled with a poor form in the league has allowed the likes of Everton to close the gap. In fact, Everton have overtaken Arsenal after having played the same number of matches. The blues have a two-point advantage over the gunners with four matches remaining.
Arsenal’s poor form came to an end after the club managed a win over Wigan athletic on penalties to reach the FA Cup finals. Vermaelen played a big role in this comeback victory, as he started ahead of the regular centre back Laurent Koscielny. Despite being the Arsenal captain, Vermaelen has often been on the bench for Arsenal. He has been linked with a move away from the club. For long periods of the match, it looked like Wigan would be able to create one of the shocks in the FA Cup by sneaking into the finals after a goal from Jordi Gomez in the second half.
Per Mertesacker, though, equalised with less than 10 minutes remaining and Arsenal won 4-2 on penalties.
“There was a lot of talk about needing the result for a few different reasons, for the manager and showing we could fight and I think we did that. It will give us a boost for the rest of the season now, we can move forward with confidence. I’m very happy that we’ll go to the final, that’s why you play these games of course. It was a long game with extra-time and penalties, it’s never easy but it’s a good win,” said Vermaelen.
