Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes the three current centre-backs at the club remind him of the three he used to have back in the late 90s.
Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker and Thomas Vermaelen are the three current defenders at the Emirates Stadium and according to Wenger, he can see glimpses of Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Steve Bould in the three.
The Gunners welcomed back Vermaelen on Saturday after he recovered from a pre-season injury and his recovery has now left Wenger with a selection headache with who he chooses as his centre-back pairing and he has likened it to the decision he had to make when he first took over as Arsenal boss when he had Keown, Adams and Bould.
“Yes, it is a bit like that,” he told Arsenal Player. “The one who didn’t play [the decision] was not justifiable.
“In the end we played the three together in some games, but when I moved to a back four we were always in a position where you had to make a choice.
“I rotated and at some stage every time I made a decision [about who] was left out, I thought ‘it is not right’.”
Despite the headache, Wenger is delighted to have Vermaelen back and he believes the club-captain offers something different at the back.
“He is naturally a left-sided player, more than anybody else,” he said. “His natural position is there and I like to have a central defence where you have a right-footed player and a left-footed player. That is why I always build around Thomas.
“For the rest, he has all the attributes of a good centre back because he has the physical qualities and the technical qualities and the experience to read the game.
“He is a natural player, but sometimes you cannot be too complicated. It worked until now and we have another candidate as well in Sagna. Every game he has played there, he has done extremely well. So we have four good centre backs.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt
