Vermaelen: 'Arsenal can compete next season'

The Belgium international believes that the north London side can replicate the healthy string of results prior to the loss at Loftus Road - as well as the quality of football - to fully compete for the title in the next campaign. "In some games we have shown a lot of quality and that we can compete with everybody," Vermaelen told reporters. "But you have to be consistent in the league and sometimes that's not been the case for us. But we will try to do that better next year. I'm confident we can do that. "Defensively it's about the organisation of the team. It's not just about the defenders who defend, the whole shape of the team, and that's really good at the moment so we must be really pleased with that.” Vermaelen insists that the Gunners deserved their victory over a lacklustre City side that failed to have even one shot on target on Sunday and the former Ajax defender believes that such dominant performances has helped Arsenal steer into the automatic Champions League places. “When everybody is fit we have a really good team and we can compete with everybody," he said. "The momentum we had, climbing the table by winning seven games in a row before losing at Queen's Park Rangers, was really important so it was vital we won again, especially against City who are contenders for the title. "We deserved it. We were dominant in the game and it was a really important result because we are in a big fight for that third place. That is so important because finishing third gives you direct qualification for the Champions League. “That is very important for the club and is our main target at the moment and I know about the rivalry between us and Tottenham. I hear it every day on the streets, people asking us to finish above Tottenham at the end of the season. We look to ourselves: if we win every game, we will finish above them. "But, while each game is important for us at the moment, they're all hard matches as well," added Vermaelen. "You could see that at QPR, where we dropped points. So Wolves will be the same. We will have to be on the top of our toes and play well there."