have stuttered in their attempts to finish third in the Premier League but insists the Gunners have what it takes to hold onto their current position.
With three games remaining this season, Arsenal are three points ahead of fourth-placed Newcastle but have drawn with Chelsea and lost to Wigan in their past two matches, allowing the Magpies - who have a game in hand - to close the gap.
However, Vermaelen believes that the Gunners will not let their position slip, having worked so hard to climb up the table following a disastrous start to their campaign that brought four defeats in their first seven Premier League games of 2011-12.
"We didn't win the last two games, and they were really good chances to put ourselves into third place comfortably," Vermalen said. "At the moment we still have to fight for third place.