Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has declared that Thomas Vermaelen's return from injury gives him strong options and tough decisions to make in central defence.

Vermaelen made his comeback from a back injury in a late appearance during last weekend's 3-1 win over Sunderland, coming on to help the Gunners earn their fifth consecutive win in all competitions.

Wenger thinks that the Belgian international's natural tendency to marshal the left side of defence always makes him a strong candidate to start, while praising Bacary Sagna's ability to move inside and cover effectively.

He told the club's official website: "He is naturally a left-sided player, more than anybody else. 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."

Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny have become Wenger's trusted centre-back pairing in recent months, with the duo expected to start against Marseille in the Champions League tomorrow night.