THOMAS VERMAELEN THREAD
10 years ago today, Arsenal sold club captain Thomas Vermaelen to Barcelona.
This thread will reveal the SHOCKING truth to why he was dropped, phased out of the team & eventually sold. I’ll also touch on how he almost joined a rival club.
Looked online & I’m staggered this hasn’t come out so hopefully this should be insightful.
10 years ago today, Arsenal sold club captain Thomas Vermaelen to Barcelona.
This thread will reveal the SHOCKING truth to why he was dropped, phased out of the team & eventually sold. I’ll also touch on how he almost joined a rival club.
Looked online & I’m staggered this hasn’t come out so hopefully this should be insightful.
I know some people like to skip to the main part so I’ve given each section a heading to make it easier to find. I’d still advise to read the full thread for context.
- Back Story
- Captaincy
- Bradford
- D Day: White Hart Lane
- 2013 Transfer Window
- Slow End
- Man United Interest
- Back Story
- Captaincy
- Bradford
- D Day: White Hart Lane
- 2013 Transfer Window
- Slow End
- Man United Interest
BACK STORY
I understand that there are some people who never saw Vermaelen at Arsenal so here’s a quick summary of his time at the club.
In 2009, Vermaelen joined from Ajax as our only summer signing, replacing Kolo Toure who was sold to Man City.
09/10- Vermaelen has a great debut season, making it into the PFA Team of the Year as he had an integral role in Arsenal’s season, when they pushed for the title until April.
I understand that there are some people who never saw Vermaelen at Arsenal so here’s a quick summary of his time at the club.
In 2009, Vermaelen joined from Ajax as our only summer signing, replacing Kolo Toure who was sold to Man City.
09/10- Vermaelen has a great debut season, making it into the PFA Team of the Year as he had an integral role in Arsenal’s season, when they pushed for the title until April.
10/11- Vermaelen picked up an injury in September which ruled him out until May. Specialists struggled to diagnose the issue at first, which is why it had taken that long. Meanwhile Arsenal challenged for the league again until April. We also lost the league cup final to Birmingham.
11/12- Vermaelen picked up the exact same injury in August but he was back after a month, as the club were able to diagnose the problem straight away & get him into surgery immediately. Arsenal struggled a lot that season but made a remarkable recovery to beat Newcastle in the top 4 race & finish above Spurs, who were in 3rd for most of the season. Vermaelen scored a last minute winner against Newcastle, which is one of the biggest goals in the Emirates era.
https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1744694240242720799/video/1
CAPTAINCY
12/13- Vermaelen was named the new Arsenal captain following Van Persie’s move to Man United. This is where things started to go wrong for the Belgian.
The captaincy had gone to his head & he suffered a lot from main character syndrome. He would basically ignore any orders from the other defenders & the keeper to the point where they wouldn’t even bother trying to talk to him. They also felt that they couldn’t raise the issue as Vermaelen was either a lot older than them or had been at the club for longer & the fact that he was the club captain.
12/13- Vermaelen was named the new Arsenal captain following Van Persie’s move to Man United. This is where things started to go wrong for the Belgian.
The captaincy had gone to his head & he suffered a lot from main character syndrome. He would basically ignore any orders from the other defenders & the keeper to the point where they wouldn’t even bother trying to talk to him. They also felt that they couldn’t raise the issue as Vermaelen was either a lot older than them or had been at the club for longer & the fact that he was the club captain.
BRADFORD
Our league cup loss to Bradford is one of the lowest moments in the Emirates era. If you’re not aware, League 2 Bradford knocked out a full strength Arsenal side in the League cup quarter finals on penalties.
What people don’t know is, Vermaelen had asked for an order change so he would be the fifth taker (presumably for the glory).
Despite misses from Cazorla & Chamakh, the 5th penalty still became decisive. Vermaelen missed…
Our league cup loss to Bradford is one of the lowest moments in the Emirates era. If you’re not aware, League 2 Bradford knocked out a full strength Arsenal side in the League cup quarter finals on penalties.
What people don’t know is, Vermaelen had asked for an order change so he would be the fifth taker (presumably for the glory).
Despite misses from Cazorla & Chamakh, the 5th penalty still became decisive. Vermaelen missed…
D DAY: WHITE HART LANE
Arsenal had found themselves in another Top 4 race this season as the chasers. Tottenham were 3rd so our trip to their ground in March was a must win.
Training in the build up to the game had heavily revolved around protecting the space in behind, as Wenger was comfortable with our defenders dealing with crosses into Adeabyor but was worried about the pace of Bale & Lennon in behind, especially with Mertesacker & Jenkinson in defence.
Arsenal had found themselves in another Top 4 race this season as the chasers. Tottenham were 3rd so our trip to their ground in March was a must win.
Training in the build up to the game had heavily revolved around protecting the space in behind, as Wenger was comfortable with our defenders dealing with crosses into Adeabyor but was worried about the pace of Bale & Lennon in behind, especially with Mertesacker & Jenkinson in defence.
Earlier in the thread, I mentioned how he wouldn’t take orders from teammates. This time, he went one step further. As soon as he got on the pitch, he had instructed the back 4 to play a high line, completely ignoring what Wenger had them working on all week in training. A back 4 consisting of him, Mertesacker, Jenkinson & Monreal.
We lost the game 2-1, with, you guessed it, Bale & Lennon scoring 2 identical goals within 3 minutes of each other by running in behind.
We lost the game 2-1, with, you guessed it, Bale & Lennon scoring 2 identical goals within 3 minutes of each other by running in behind.
Without hesitation, Wenger dropped him in the next game, which was a crucial away leg at Bayern. We won 2-0 & became the first team to keep a clean sheet at Bayern that season. Vermaelen only started one game for the rest of the season, which was only because Mertesacker was suspended. Arteta became the unofficial captain.
Mertesacker & Koscielny struck up a solid partnership, as Arsenal made Top 4, ahead of Spurs AGAIN.
Mertesacker & Koscielny struck up a solid partnership, as Arsenal made Top 4, ahead of Spurs AGAIN.
2013 TRANSFER WINDOW
Arsenal weren’t actively trying to sell Vermaelen but were open if a good offer came in. Barcelona wanted a defender to succeed Abidal. No deal materialised & Vermaelen stayed at Arsenal.
Arsenal weren’t actively trying to sell Vermaelen but were open if a good offer came in. Barcelona wanted a defender to succeed Abidal. No deal materialised & Vermaelen stayed at Arsenal.
SLOW END
2013/14- While Arsenal pushed for the title until March, Vermaelen’s minutes were very scarce with his only starts coming when either Koscielny or Mertesacker were injured. On top of that, he had his own injury issues that season, which made it even harder for him to get back into the team.
2013/14- While Arsenal pushed for the title until March, Vermaelen’s minutes were very scarce with his only starts coming when either Koscielny or Mertesacker were injured. On top of that, he had his own injury issues that season, which made it even harder for him to get back into the team.
MAN UNITED INTEREST
Although we all now know he was sold to Barcelona, Vermaelen was somewhat close to joining Man United.
Arsenal had made clubs aware that Vermaelen was up for sale. Liverpool had shown interest but Wenger refused to deal with them after the Suarez saga a year before.
Louis van Gaal had just become United manager & was looking to bring in defenders after losing Evra, Ferdinand & Vidić. LVG personally asked United to get him Vermaelen.
Vermaelen was open to the move, as United were offering him high wages, a starting role & the chance to play for LVG.
United offered cash + Evans.
Although we all now know he was sold to Barcelona, Vermaelen was somewhat close to joining Man United.
Arsenal had made clubs aware that Vermaelen was up for sale. Liverpool had shown interest but Wenger refused to deal with them after the Suarez saga a year before.
Louis van Gaal had just become United manager & was looking to bring in defenders after losing Evra, Ferdinand & Vidić. LVG personally asked United to get him Vermaelen.
Vermaelen was open to the move, as United were offering him high wages, a starting role & the chance to play for LVG.
United offered cash + Evans.
Wenger wasn’t keen for multiple reasons.
- United had really over valued Evans
- Arsenal wanted all cash, as we had made huge investments in Alexis & Chambers
- Didn’t want to strengthen a rival
- Didn’t want to sell two club captains back to back both to Man United
United would go on to sign Blind but their positive discussions with Arsenal allowed us to sign Welbeck on deadline day.
Vermaelen was sold to Barcelona for £15M.
- United had really over valued Evans
- Arsenal wanted all cash, as we had made huge investments in Alexis & Chambers
- Didn’t want to strengthen a rival
- Didn’t want to sell two club captains back to back both to Man United
United would go on to sign Blind but their positive discussions with Arsenal allowed us to sign Welbeck on deadline day.
Vermaelen was sold to Barcelona for £15M.
End of Thread
Thank you for reading. I’ve done other inside stories, which you can find on the highlights tab of my page.
So far I’ve done one on Guendouzi, Gibbs, Walcott & Szczęsny.
Thank you for reading. I’ve done other inside stories, which you can find on the highlights tab of my page.
So far I’ve done one on Guendouzi, Gibbs, Walcott & Szczęsny.
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