Arsenal's Thomas Vermaelen. Picture: Peter Byrne

Thomas Vermaelen believes the squad is ready to go

Arsenal star Thomas Vermaelen believes that the squad looks strong enough to challenge at the top of the Premier League.

The Gunners suffered a difficult start last season, including an 8-2 defeat to Manchester United at the end of August as the north Londoners lost Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri last summer.

They could lose Robin van Persie this summer but the Belgian star is impressed with how the squad is being formed.

“The squad looks strong,” he told Arsenal Player “There are not a lot of injuries at the moment, apart from Bacary [Sagna] and Jack [Wilshere] - for the rest it looks good.

“Everyone looks fit and sharp and it is good that we have so many new players as well.

“At the beginning of last season I was injured with the same problem I had before. For the rest of the season I played quite a lot of games so I was quite pleased with that, but of course I want to do better this year. I want to perform better as well.”