Thomas Vermaelen feels ‘hurt’ by Arsenal defeats

Thomas Vermaelen admits that he and his Arsenal team-mates have been “hurt” by the Gunners’ recent setbacks but has vowed to help reverse their fortunes.

Saturday’s shock FA Cup exit at the hands of Blackburn Rovers was compounded by a 3-1 defeat by Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday, leaving Arsenal’s hopes of ending their seven-year trophy drought hanging by a thread.

The north Londoners also have a battle on their hands to qualify for next season’s Champions League, with Arsene Wenger’s men currently trailing fourth-placed Tottenham by four points.

But although Gunners captain Vermaelen admits the last few days have been difficult, the Belgian is determined to help his side bounce back.

“At the moment of course there’s a lot of disappointment,” Vermaelen told Arsenal’s website.

“I think we didn’t play disciplined enough as a team to win [on Tuesday], especially in the first half. But I don’t think we come out of the dressing room and think that we’re going to start slowly. We do our best.

“We’re not happy and are disappointed but we have to look at ourselves and stick together in difficult times. That’s the first thing we have to do – don’t blame each other or look at each other, just stay as a team and work hard every day to get the results back.

“We hurt as players as well. We don’t want to lose. We try our best and work hard to get results. We’re professionals. We want to win games. That’s why we’re playing at this level. It hurts us [to] lose games.”