Arsenal Signing Thomas Vermaelen Draws Inspiration From Italy Hero Fabio Cannavaro

The Belgian defender sees no flaw in the Italy captain's diminutive stature...

Fabio Cannavaro - Italy (Grazia Neri)
Italy's World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro has been an inspiration to Arsenal's sole summer signing, Thomas Vermaelen. The Belgium international, recently installed as his country's skipper, claims a lack of height does not equate to being aerially inferior.

"I know I'm not tall but, if you speak to people at Ajax they'll tell you I was the best header there," Vermaelen revealed in The Telegraph.

"They don't care about how big I am, whenever we were defending a corner I always had to take the tallest guy.

"I'm not that tall but you have to jump so that's how I try and compensate. I never trained for it. It's just timing, I guess."

Vermaelen then praised his current team-mates, claiming that training against Francesc Fabregas can be a laborious challenge.

"Playing and training with so many big stars, the beginning was a bit like a dream.

"I think Fabregas is brilliant," he said. "If you play against him in the little training games – eight against eight – it is almost impossible to win."

Alan Dawson, Goal.com UK
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