By Matt Hill
Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen is “confident” the club can still claim a top-four finish and qualify for next season’s Champions League, despite their 2-1 defeat to Chelsea on Sunday.
The Gunners have claimed just one point from their previous three Premier League games – including losses to Manchester City and the European champions – to slip seven points behind fourth-placed Tottenham, albeit with a game in hand.
West Ham are Arsenal’s next opponents and Vermaelen is keen to take the positives from their second-half performance against Chelsea into the clash on Wednesday.
“In the first half it was hard work,” Vermaelen told the club’s official website. “We were running after the ball. It cost us a lot of energy.
“The second half was much easier. We had better organisation and a better shape. You could see that we created more chances, were more dangerous and in the end we could have won the game I think.
“It was really frustrating. We know we have the quality to beat Chelsea but it’s all about results.
“We don’t have to look too far ahead. There’s still a long way to go. I’m still confident. You could see it [on Sunday] in the second half. I’m still confident we can get a good [position].”
