Vermaelen ready to play through pain

Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen is ready to carry on playing despite a leg injury as the Gunners continue their quest for Champions League and Premier League glory.

The 24-year-old centre-back feared he had fractured his leg against Aston Villa last month but played against Manchester United four days later despite feeling the effects of heavy bruising.

The Belgian still feels discomfort due to the injury but is determined to carry on, starting with Arsenal’s Champions League trip to Porto on Wednesday

“It turned out that I could play against Manchester United, but after that game I had some more problems, so I went for another scan,” Vermaelen said.

“We could see then that there was a big bruise on the bone, and that’s all – so it is painful but that can be controlled with medicine and when it is not broken, you can’t do too much wrong,” he added Monday.

“It is not a big problem to play – yes it is still there and will take some time to go away, but it is not dangerous.”

Defeats by title rivals Manchester United and Chelsea stalled Arsenal’s bid to top the table but, following a win over Liverpool, they are now just six points off top spot.

“We will keep fighting to the end as a team, that is all we can do,” Vermaelen said.

“The important thing is to stay together. When you lose, it is easy to say it is his fault or his fault, but I think it is important to remain as a team and a unit.

“We will battle until the last moment of the season.”

Andrey Arshavin is expected to miss the Porto trip but Eduardo and Alex Song could be fit.