Thomas Vermaelen

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We can't even sign Vermaelen :lol:

But in all seriousness if we don't get him I doubt we'd sign a CB. Van Gaal will probably just place a lot of trust in Blackett.
 
Dodged a bullet imo, think most fans didn't want him.

Problem is there aren't many top centre backs available at the moment.
 
MancFanFromManc said:
from what I saw the other night that might not be such a bad thing. He looks a tremendous prospect, a very assured touch and properly cool under pressure
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True but we do need someone with a bit more experience as well.
 
Thank feck we've failed to sign him if true then. Another injury-prone average at best defender is not exactly what we need.
 
buckooo1978 said:
a swap deal? sounds like bullshit

who did we offer according to them?
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No I think it means that they wanted a swap deal and we said no. Knowing arsenal they probably wanted smalling or jones and money on top for a much older, average, injury prone defender who had no place in their team. Thank god we've told them to stick it, if they have.
 
NMF said:
We can't even sign Vermaelen :lol:

But in all seriousness if we don't get him I doubt we'd sign a CB. Van Gaal will probably just place a lot of trust in Blackett.
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I doubt that myself. 4 centre backs when you play a back three is very risky. I doubt Keane has show LVG enough to be considered for first team duties just yet.
 
I am a bit confused about this. So we are all happpy we missed out on him but if we were trying to sign him means LVG wanted him. Obviously with all trust we have in our new manager, is it a huge blow that we missed out on him again to one of the Spanish Big 2?
 
Phew, we really dodged a bullet there-never worth £10m for an injury prone defender-FFs we already have our fair share in Smalling, Jones, Evan and Rafael.
 
Y2A said:
I am a bit confused about this. So we are all happpy we missed out on him but if we were trying to sign him means LVG wanted him. Obviously with all trust we have in our new manager, is it a huge blow that we missed out on him again to one of the Spanish Big 2?
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We wanted him here but obviously didn't rate him enough to give away whatever player Wenger wanted. It's good news.
 
NMF said:
I wonder if we have a back up target.
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Benatia would be fantastic, but i guess just made up from the media. Ron Vlaar maybe, but i hope LvG thinks that he wouldnt be good enough. For the rest, it doesnt look good with realistic targets and being better than what we already have.
 
Y2A said:
I am a bit confused about this. So we are all happpy we missed out on him but if we were trying to sign him means LVG wanted him. Obviously with all trust we have in our new manager, is it a huge blow that we missed out on him again to one of the Spanish Big 2?
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If we wanted him that much we could have certainly made a bigger bid than the other teams which would have forced Arsenal to consider selling him to us. Especially with the reported fees of 10-15 million. He probably was one of our transfer targets but not on the top of the wishlist. On top of that we still do not know who else we are after. I`d rather spend 30 million on a better defender that will be a force for 4-5 years to come.
 
NMF said:
I wonder if we have a back up target.
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I thought Vermaelen was a back up target to begin with?

Either way I am glad we aren't considering a swap deal but I can't help but feel a bit uneasy with our defensive options. If we ended August with just the three sick notes we have as first choice along with young Keane/Blackett who okay looked good on tour but that was only pre-season, I'd be a tad bit worried.
 
Y2A said:
I am a bit confused about this. So we are all happpy we missed out on him but if we were trying to sign him means LVG wanted him. Obviously with all trust we have in our new manager, is it a huge blow that we missed out on him again to one of the Spanish Big 2?
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He probably saw it like a lot of us did - decent versatile player with experience of the PL, a little more experience than our current defender, so enough pros to make it worth while. But just not good enough to break the bank for.
 
Glad we aren't swapping Smalling for him, that would have been an appalling deal from us. Would be great bringing in someone like Benatia, if not then we will finally see if Smalling / Jones / Evans have the potential / talent required at the top level.
 
Twigginater said:
We need an extra body in defence. Why did Arsenal think we'd ever do that?
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Don't forget that they did not want to sell to us but wanted to accept offers from abroad instead. It is a win-win situation for them really. If we accept they get a direct replacement, if we refuse-they just sell him to Barcelona
 
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