Thomas Vermaelen: Injury problems are behind me

Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen has insisted that his injury problems are behind him after playing 90 minutes against Marseille.

Tuesday's 0-0 draw with the French side saw Vermaelen complete a match for the first time since August.

The 25-year-old missed a large portion of last season with a similar injury but believes that he is back to full fitness.

"I came back strong, had a great pre-season and played the first four games and then I got injured on the other [Achilles]," said Vermaelen. "I was not too stressed about it, as I knew what it was. I had experience of it from last season, so I knew that it would only take six weeks for me to come back. I was not worried. "Of course it is the main thing for me at the moment to get the 90 minutes under my belt. I trained hard to come back and I feel good and great and it is always good to have 90 minutes again."

The Belgian defender recently signed a new contract that will keep him at the Emirates until 2015.