Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen has insisted that he is not worried about being dropped for the team's last two matches.

The Belgian defender was left out of the Gunners' Champions League win over Bayern Munich before remaining on the bench for last weekend's victory against Swansea City in the Premier League.

"I have made mistakes," The Metro quotes Vermaelen as saying.

"If I played flawlessly in all the matches I would be Lionel Messi. As a footballer you know you what may happen when you play badly.

"I'm not worried though – it's only the last games, I have played about 35 times this season. This is Arsenal, they are not a bad team and there is a lot of competition."

Arsenal return to league action on March 30 when they host struggling Reading at the Emirates Stadium.