Wenger: You can question his height but not his leap

Arsene Wenger feels he signed a giant with average height in Thomas Vermaelen and the Begian has affirmed just that ever since his debut against Everton.

Many expected Vermaelen’s presence to be no changing factor when it comes to Arsenal’s aerial problems defensively but the 23-year-old has proved dominant on set pieces on most occasions.

Wenger can also be forgiven to feel he signed a decent striker in Vermaelen who now boasts four goals as Arsenal’s unlikely top scorer this season.

The former Ajax captain again displayed his athleticism in Arsenal’s 4-0 victory over Wigan on Saturday both defensively and offensively.

And Wenger is delighted to have finally landed the “big head” Arsenal needed in the air.

“You can question his height but not his leap. That makes up for his height, but he’s taller than you expect; he’s not small. He has a very, very strong upper body and a very, very good leap. His leap is very sharp and he is very quick and that is something very important on headers. Because if two players analyse the flight of the ball at the same time, the one who jumps the quickest is the one who heads the ball first.” Wenger said.

“I [first noticed him] when he played against us because he played against Theirry Henry and he kept him quiet, and against Robin van Persie he kept him quiet.”