Thomas Vermaelen rallies support for Arsene Wenger

Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen has admitted he is shocked by the speculation surrounding Arsene Wenger's future, but has called on his team-mates to stand behind their coach in the wake of the 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Pressure is mounting on the 63-year-old after the Gunners were knocked out of the FA Cup by Blackburn on Saturday, while goals from Toni Kroos, Thomas Muller and Mario Mandzukic on Tuesday put Bayern firmly in control of the last-16 tie ahead of the return leg in Munich.

The two defeats mean it is likely Arsenal will go without a trophy for an eighth successive season, but Vermaelen insists his coach is still the right man to lead the side to glory.

"I am [shocked], but I know in football everybody thinks really short term and they don't look at the long term," he told reporters.

"[Wenger] has done a lot for this club, it's not going well at the moment but you have to stand behind him. You have to look at the long-term; he's the right man for this club and we're all behind him.

"He's done a lot for this club, he still does a lot of hard work for us. I think he's the right man for us, and we have to show that on the pitch as well. At the moment the results are not going for us - it's been quite difficult, but we will work hard with the boss to get the results back."

Supporters at the Emirates made their feelings known with a chorus of boos at the final whistle on Saturday, as well as at the end of each half against Bayern, but the Belgium international has insisted that they must get behind the team. 


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