Thomas Vermaelen

Status
Not open for further replies.
Lane said:
But if Evans, Smalling or Jones won't step up next year, when will they?

And who can we get exactly? It does not look there is a player that is available and much better than these guys. I mean we need some reinforcement, but it time to decide whether to actually put trust in Smalling and Evans (as they are much older than Jones and Jones is more versatile) or not. If Evans or Smalling can't be our main defenders at 26 and 25, they will probably never be.
Click to expand...
Agree with this. If we don't give them chances now we might as well just forget it entirely.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Add to that turning down Fabregas and Sagna joining City. The knives will be out for Wenger, big time, if either of those two have a really good season. I'm sure he'd be more than a little reluctant to have a Vermaelen at United in the mix too, especially with RvP certain to be the main man for Van Gaal. Could make life reallly unpleasant for himself if Ozil/Arsenal have a wobble early on.
Click to expand...
If Vermaelen does join us, you could almost compile a strong Premier League XI of former Arsenal players who have only recently left the club.

Fabianski
Sagna - Toure - Vermaelen - Clichy
N/A - Fabregas - N/A - Nasri
Adebayor - van Persie
​
Staggering.
 
Glanville95 said:
If Vermaelen does join us, you could almost compile a strong Premier League XI of former Arsenal players who have only recently left the club.

Fabianski
Sagna - Toure - Vermaelen - Clichy
N/A - Fabregas - N/A - Nasri
Adebayor - van Persie
​
Staggering.
Click to expand...


I doubt that XI would win anything.
 
Grinner said:
I doubt that XI would win anything.
Click to expand...
It's still pretty strong, if you consider what each player was like when they left Arsenal.

In comparison, if you were to make an XI of United or Chelsea players who have joined a PL team, it would consist the likes of Bardsley and Borini.
 
Van Persie, Nasri and Fabregas are the only real losses tbf. The rest have all been replaced fairly easily.

EDIT: Though tbf Arsenal could use a 2007/08 Adebayor about now.
 
I hope Cleverley turns into a worldbeater for the amount of shit he gets. Would love to see him go somewhere in the League and do brilliantly, although maybe not Arsenal.
 
Grinner said:
Don't you think he can do a decent job as a DM?
Click to expand...
Cleverley as a DM? I suppose you mean with a partner such as Wilshere/Ramsey? I suppose it could work but for you he'd be the same squad player as he is for us now, so I'm not sure it'd be a good addition. Its not as if he's a player with bags of potential at this point either, but who knows.
 
Grinner said:
Don't you think he can do a decent job as a DM?
Click to expand...

No he looks uncomfortable when we are forced to sit deep and absorb lengthy spells of pressure. One exception was at the Emirates last season, where I thought he did reasonably well. He's neat and tidy and has little else to his game.
 
ThanksBoss26 said:
I have to say I'm not as against this signing as most, if around £10 million or just under. He just strikes me as a van Gaal type player. Comfortable on the ball, adaptable, and can play in more than one position (three or four at the back, left back in an emergency).

There's no question he's gone stale at Arsenal and he needs a move. The main concern, as others have pointed out, is injuries. But if he can stay fit I think he might pleasantly surprise some people and prove a good signing.
Click to expand...

The price tag for the deal itself is far from being the issue, far from it. After reading his bio, one would know that LVG knows Vermaelen since the days Louis was the technical director. However it is how he lost his place at Arsenal despite how fragile they are at the back compared to league-winning clubs in England that is worrying. Of course, there were injuries, but losing a spot to the likes of Koscielny and the older Mertesacker is not inspiring too much confidence in the current context.

Well, we'll see. If LVG can find a way to get Vermaelen's confidence back while the Belgian stays fit on his side, then great. Still, I'd love to see another CB coming in to boss the back 3 or back 4.
 
When he was good for Arsenal he was very good, arguably the third best defender in the league after Vidic and Kompany.

So far away from that peak over the last few years though.

Grinner said:
Don't you think he can do a decent job as a DM?
Click to expand...

He's abysmally bad at defending so how could he possibly make a good DM?
 
Got to honest, find this move perplexing if it's true and genuinely hope it's bullshit.

Even when Vermaelen was at his peak with Arsenal he was always suspect defensively and his goal scoring glossed over a lot of that. Since then he has become injury prone and dropped behind Koscielny and Mertesacker who have become a solid pairing.

For me, he's the last thing we need at centre back after last season, even as a back up. Would much prefer a solid 2007/08 JOS/Wes Brown type if we are not signing a first team centre back.
 
matherto said:
When he was good for Arsenal he was very good, arguably the third best defender in the league after Vidic and Kompany.

So far away from that peak over the last few years though.
Click to expand...

Don't think he was ever that good personally. It's no co-incidence that Arsenal's defence has improved markedly with Koscielny and Mertesacker as the centre back pairing and that's going back about 18 months now.
 
Red Dreams said:
who do you see as starting with him?
Click to expand...

Not sure. Evans has proven the most so far and is very comfortable on the ball. Smalling is a better natural defender but his distribution is relatively poor. Jones is the most talented of the three but also looks the most raw at CB.

I guess Jones is the least likely as we may still need him as cover for other positions on occasion, particularly RB. I guess we'd try out both Smalling and Evans alongside Vermaelen and see who forms the most natural partnership with him?
 
Clev stuff is mental!:lol: But i love it!

Would be much better if Wenger would go for Anderson.:wenger:
 
Cleverley to Arsenal? feck off. He'll take to their system like a duck to water. It'll be Pogba all over again.
 
sullydnl said:
Not sure. Evans has proven the most so far and is very comfortable on the ball. Smalling is a better natural defender but his distribution is relatively poor. Jones is the most talented of the three but also looks the most raw at CB.

I guess Jones is the least likely as we may still need him as cover for other positions on occasion, particularly RB. I guess we'd try out both Smalling and Evans alongside Vermaelen and see who forms the most natural partnership with him?
Click to expand...

Looking at the CB pairing prospects here, I still believe we'd still need a new general to lead all the men at the back. With that regards, that particular issue won't be solved just yet even with Vermaelen in.
 
Ole'sbodyguard said:
Got to honest, find this move perplexing if it's true and genuinely hope it's bullshit.

Even when Vermaelen was at his peak with Arsenal he was always suspect defensively and his goal scoring glossed over a lot of that. Since then he has become injury prone and dropped behind Koscielny and Mertesacker who have become a solid pairing.

For me, he's the last thing we need at centre back after last season, even as a back up. Would much prefer a solid 2007/08 JOS/Wes Brown type if we are not signing a first team centre back.
Click to expand...
But as a experienced cover for both CB and LB positions he is fairly alright. At 100k per week to expensive though.
 
Lane said:
But as a experienced cover for both CB and LB positions he is fairly alright. At 100k per week to expensive though.
Click to expand...

Personally I think the last thing we need at centre back cover is someone who is (a) injury prone and (b) defensively suspect. I value the ability to defend as the most important requirement of a central defender and the ability to be durable as the most important requirement of a squad player and Vermaelen ticks neither box. Defence was one of the biggest issues with the side last season.

No problems with him as left back cover.

It would be less pressing if we did not have several question marks over the current centre backs at the club as well and we had Rio and Vidic in their prime with Evans as back up with JOS also around but the problem is we don't have that luxury.
 
Finding it so hard to get excited about a signing who is no better than what we already have and is not a centre midfielder. Sign a midfielder!!
 
Arsenal's Manchester United transfer target Thomas Vermaelen could be swapped for Tom Cleverley

Arsene Wenger could look for a part-exchange deal with Manchester United over Thomas Vermaelen.

The Arsenal boss has been keeping tabs on Tom Cleverley and also has an interest in Chris Smalling.

That could act as a potential sweetener, with the Old Trafford giants keen to do a £10million deal for Belgium World Cup defender Vermaelen.

Vermaelen, 28, only has one year left on his contract with the Gunners, has been relegated down the pecking order and, despite being captain, seems surplus to requirements.

Arsenal have been realistic about having to sell him this summer, because Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker have become their first choice centre-back pairing.

Vermaelen’s close friendship with United's ex-Arsenal striker Robin van Persie may help smooth the passage but the north Londoners must also decide whether it is good business to sell to a direct rival for honours.

They have already seen long-time right-back Bacary Sagna join champions Manchester City as a free agent this summer, but Vermaelen’s situation is different as they were always likely to lose him although United are now ahead of Napoli in the queue to sign him.

The Reds are likely to offer Vermaelen a deal worth £100,000-a-week as they rebuild under new boss Louis van Gaal, but Arsenal’s potential interest in their players may make the deal even more interesting.
Click to expand...
The Mirror

From Arsenal's PR man, John Cross.
 
Ufff it seems it's a done deal, and I hope it's not. At his best, he was great, but he's too much injury prone it seems, and he may be past his peak. Although at 28 he may still bounce back and prove me wrong. But honestly I would rather we go for either a proven player like Verane, or someone more younger and talented, cause I don't think that right now Vermaelen is better than Evans, and I think Jones will be better than both. The only problem is Jones is also injury prone, and that might stall his progress.

And I hope this doesn't mean that we are going to give up on Luke Shaw...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.