One-time Arsenal great Tony Adams, no less, ventured the opinion that the Belgian likes his country’s famous chocolates and could have given Arsenal a soft centre.
Vermaelen is no colossus and most observers would rate the 5ft 11in given his height as a little generous.
But there’s no argument about the £10million defender’s heart for the battle – while his flurry of goals is proving a godsend to manager Arsene Wenger.
He hit his third and fourth goals of the season as the Gunners returned to the business of winning league games. A fierce header broke the deadlock and a finish which Lionel Messi would have been proud of ended any hopes Wigan might have had of claiming their first top-four scalp at their 34th attempt.
Eduardo added a third, although Emmanuel Eboue might be claiming it as, for once, Arsenal enjoyed an afternoon without any major incidents as Cesc Fabregas completed the stroll.
Glad to see the back of Manchester after successive league defeats there, the last thing the Gunners needed was any heroics from Wigan, who offered very little.
It’s been a traumatic few weeks for Arsenal and a resounding chant of “There’s only one Arsene Wenger” in the first 10 minutes must have been reassuring for the Frenchman who has come under fire on the radio from some disenchanted Gooners
A siege on Chris Kirkland’s goal earned its reward with Vermaelen’s 25th-minute power header.
Robin van Persie, having flushed the Emmanuel Adebayor rumpus out of his system, swung in a corner and the Belgian with an eye for goal did the rest. He made a thumping connection, rising above a couple of half-hearted challenges for goal number three this season.
Wigan could have expected little else after having little option but to try to soak up relentless pressure, their cause not helped by conceding a rash of free-kicks.
Kirkland, in his 100th Premier League game, lost one high ball in the Emirates sun. Titus Bramble came to the rescue, clearing a William Gallas header off the line. The adventurous Eboue twice squandered the creative work of his team-mates but was booked for trying to punch an Eduardo cross over the line.
The only inquest in the Gunners dressing room at half-time would have been over the number of missed chances and whether the lack of a killing edge would come back to haunt them.
Van Persie was especially culpable when a chip into the box from Abou Diaby left him completely free. He made a horrible mess of an attempted overhead finish and Eduardo just failed to turn in the sliced effort as it span past the post.
A more conventional strike from an Eduardo cross brought the best out of Kirkland. Just to prove that missing countless opportunities can be a dangerous business, Arsenal’s Italian rookie keeper Vito Mannone earned his pay cheque with a fine stop from Emmerson Boyce’s header and then blocked Bramble’s follow-up.
Any anxieties Wenger may have had over his side’s charity in front of goal were put to bed just after the break.
Again it was the central defender who can’t stop scoring who put Arsenal in the comfort zone.
Not content with halting a rare Wigan raid in its tracks he moved forward with intent and purpose, demanding the ball. When it arrived, courtesy of Eboue, Vermaelen let fly from just outside the box with an unstoppable drive.
The Gunners were now on a roll and number three quickly followed, Eduardo’s volley from a Gael Clichy cross came back off the post but as Wigan failed to clear Eduardo nipped in to ram in the rebound, although it appeared to be hit Eboue on the way.
Fabregas wrapped things up with a near-post finish from Nicklas Bendtner’s cross.
Arsenal’s new hero Vermaelen might not be moulded from the Tony Adams colossus school, but he scores goals like his famous predecessor.
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