Thomas Vermaelen has revealed he is on the verge of reaching full fitness ahead of a Premier League return for Arsenal.
The Belgian centre-half played almost the entire shift as the Gunners came from behind to defeat Bolton 2-1 in the Carling Cup fourth round last night and indicated that he is almost primed for a league comeback after spending close to two months out with an Achilles injury.
"I feel great, I trained yesterday with the team and I felt good straight away so I felt confident for tonight," he told the club's official website.
"Personally I don't believe in that [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 today and I think it's good.
"It was a good game for us, we fought hard and it was a deserved win for us I think."
