Published: 21 February, 2013
by STEVE BARNETT

ARSENAL captain Thomas Vermaelen insists the Emirate Stadium boo boys are wrong if they think it’s time to replace manager Arsene Wenger.
The home fans made their feelings clear at the sound of the final whistle on Tuesday after the north Londoners slumped to a 3-1 defeat against German giants Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

The result leaves the Gunners needing a miracle to overturn the tie in Munich and, following Saturday’s shock defeat against Blackburn in the FA Cup, staring down the barrel at an eighth straight season without any silverware.

Despite another season seemingly looking over in February, however, Vermaelen said that he is shocked by calls for Wenger’s head and insists he remains the right man for the job.

“Of course we’re behind him,” said Vermaelen. “He’s done a lot for this club. He still does a lot of hard work with us. He is the right man for the job.
“We have to show it on the pitch as well. At the moment the results are not good. But we will work hard with him to get the results back. Everyone in football looks too short term.

“They don’t look at the long term… It doesn’t mean that because it’s not going well at the moment we don’t stand behind him.”

However, Vermaelen admits he can understand growing supporter unrest as Arsenal’s struggles continue.

“Sometimes, as a player, you are frustrated as well,” he added.

“If you lose you get frustrated but it’s not the right thing to act on. We have to stick together and work hard. We need each other. The fans must not forget that we need them because they belong to the team and to the club. We must stand behind each other that’s the only thing we can do.
“Of course we are not happy – we are disappointed. We have to look at ourselves and stick together in difficult times.

“Don’t look at each other, don’t blame each other, work hard every day to get the results back.”