The Situation:
Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen has found himself on the fringes at Arsenal, a club he’s officially the standing Captain of. Vermaelen’s agent has intimated that his client, whilst happy in principle (at Arsenal) has to be looking at being a 1st-teamer, if not at Arsenal, then somewhere else.
The Belgian international’s stock has fallen somewhat in the last year/18 months, being unsurped by the central defensive partnership of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny. Arsenal had come under a fair degree of flack which suggested that the central defensive pairings of either Vermaelen/Mertesacker or Vermaelen/Koscielny lacked cohesion and chemistry, something all successful centreback pairings have in spades.
The Decision:
Fate conspired that Vermaelen would suffer a medium/long-term injury, which meant that the pairing of Mertesacker and Koscielny were paired together over a stretch of games. Low & behold, that coupling clicked naturally, there’s a genuine understanding between the pair and what one player lacks, the other seems to compensate for. In spite of Vermaelen being the club captain, as well as suffering a series of injuries, Wenger opted to pick the Franco-German defensive partnership on merit, which meant that finding a way back into the fold of the 1st team at Arsenal has been difficult for the Belgian stalwart. It’s also arguable that Wenger, ever loyal to his players, had raised an eyebrow as to Vermaelen’s suitability to partner either on of Kos or Merts. It’s true that Verm was “dropped” a handful of times, but ultimately a series of injuries made the Manager’s longterm decision one of necessity as much as one of those ‘tricky decisions’ that all manager’s are faced with in the throws of a long, hard season.
The Verdict:
Vermaelen is very much in the mould of the “100%, Mr. committed” figure. Even if he has a poor/average game, rarely (if ever) could you aim the heinous jibe that “he’s just not trying”. The guy is a pro and in that respect, finding himself as Arsenal captain and being rated (by some) as a top-drawer defender, to being a bench-warmer and having limited opportunities in terms of starting games, his professionalism deserves accolade. Players want to play and so they should do, but it’s very much commonplace in such circumstances to hear players bleat and bemoan their situation and even the decision(s) of their manager if they’re not given pride-of-place on the team-sheet come matchday. Vermaelen has never done this and always spoke respectfully and positively about the current situation and his aspirations to hopefully get himself back into contention to be considered ‘1st choice’.
Football is a results based business of course and picking the “right team” is very much a key part of football on which a coach/manager will be judged. It’s difficult to argue that based on performances, a centreback pairing of Koscielny and Mertesacker is not the best defensive duo that Arsenal have produced in recent times. There’s a very real chemistry between them and both players certainly compliment each other’s respective styles. Mertesacker reads the game, organises things and is a vocal and affirmative presence. Koscielny throws himself into the fore like a ‘Tommy’ going ‘over the top’, out of the trenches and into battle. The German lacks pace, but along with his footballing intelligence and positional sense, it’s more than made up for by the covering work of his partner in crime (Koscielny).
On the flipside, Arsenal losing Vermaelen this summer could prove a tough player to replace. Irrespective of Arsenal’s horrendous penchant for picking up injuries, few teams can boast a player of Vermaelen’s caliber, professionalism and commitment as a “3rd choice” centreback. Koscielny’s recent injury has allowed the captain a passage back into the team and with a flurry of difficult games that came (& continue to come) thick and fast, the Belgian has applied himself well. It would be well worth the club’s while to try and persuade Vermaelen that he does have a future at the Emirates, whether the player himself sees a way back into the first-team as a realistic prospect and subsequent incentive to stay at the club, well, that remains to be seen.
Your verdict:
We regularly pose the same question to our @AFCModiOperandi followers and include some replies in our articles – if you are interested in having your comments in our articles, follow our account and reply to our questions marked with #AFCMO. This is what you had to say about the Thomas Vermaelen situation:
@_GoonerPrincess – I guess not, once Per and Kos are fit. But its feels good having a quality backup!
@_zacharys – nope, not with Kos and Mertesacker. Though I would like if he developed into a solid dm. Ball winner type that we need
@jamieboss1007 – kos and per have formed a decent partnership! TV just seems out of place now! Shame, always liked him
@refmillerafc – what about playing him as defensive midfielder?
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