Vermaelen - We can play better

Arsenal defender insists Wenger's men are capable of more

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 10th March 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Vermaelen - We can play better

Vermaelen: High standards

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Thomas Vermaelen claims Arsenal's impressive 5-0 mauling of Porto was not their best performance this term.

The Gunners entered their UEFA Champions League date with the Portuguese giants on Tuesday trailing 2-1 from the first leg of their last-16 tie.

Knowing they had to score to progress to the quarter-finals, Arsene Wenger's side burst out of the blocks.

A Nicklas Bendtner brace edged them ahead on aggregate early on, before a late penalty from the Danish striker and composed finishes from Samir Nasri and Emmanuel Eboue saw the Gunners home in spectacular style.

Those inside Emirates Stadium were treated to a showing of Arsenal at their free-flowing best, and it is difficult to see who could live with them in that kind of form.

Pressure

However, Belgian centre-half Vermaelen insists they are capable of raising their standards even higher.

"I don't know if it was our best performance of the season but we played a good game," he told Sky Sports.

"From the first minute we were putting pressure on them and they couldn't handle it. We scored two early goals and that was good for us.

"In the second half we didn't start that well, but after that we scored three, four and five."