As Thomas Vermaelen packed his bags and made the familiar journey to Catalonia like so many former Arsenal players before him, there was an unusual air of calm amongst Arsenal fans. At the risk of being overly gushing, Vermaelen had handled the situation around his transfer to the Nou Camp with dignity and respect. You could argue that the reaction from a vast majority of Gooners would not be quite so friendly or liberal had the Belgian chosen a move to Old Trafford rather than Barcelona, which looked on the cards for a brief period prior to Barca persuading the Belgian his future lay outside of the Premier League. But in the grand scheme of things Vermaelen’s acrimonious departure is one that on the face of it suits all concerned parties, well almost.
Vermaelen lost his place in the Arsenal 1st-team after succumbing to injury and the partnership of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker was forged, at first out of necessity rather than design. The defensive duo who are referred to affectionately as “Mertescielny” by some sections of Arsenal fans obviously have a chemistry between them, an on-the-field “sixth sense” where they know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and have the know-how and desire to compensate for each others shortcomings. This is something that Vermaelen fell short of, by hook or by crook the Belgian didn’t seem to be on the same wavelength as either of his team-mates.
Arsenal’s decision to sell Vermaelen abroad seems understandable. The player is arguably not quite at the level he was when he burst into the Arsenal 1st-team and was regarded as one of the players of the season in his rookie campaign in England. It’s very likely that the player’s physical state has some bearing on this. Sadly for Vermaelen, he’s suffered with various niggles, some serious, some not so much so, but combined it’s conspired to come to pass that the player has had a stop/start career for Arsenal over the last couple of seasons. With the transfer fee reported to be within the region of £15 million, Arsenal will be quietly satisfied that they’ve got a good return on a player who was entering the final year of his contract.
With Arsenal signing young Southampton defender Calum Chambers there’s been much of a buzz regarding not only the 19 year old’s potential, but also his versatility. Chambers Premier League career has been a burgeoning yet impressive one, playing at rigthback at St. Mary’s in his debut season. Many have earmarked Chambers as a future centreback, with his positional sense and calm demeanour that much belie his tender years being attributes lauded by many. In pre-season and most notably in the Community Shield against reigning Champions Manchester City, Chambers took to the centreback position with minimum fuss and came out of the encounter(s) with notable distinction.
To suggest that Chambers is a like-for-like replacement for Vermaelen is of course wide of the mark. Not only positionally, but in terms of experience, we’re hardly talking about two-peas-in-a-pod. It stands to reason that some will suggest that bestowing the responsibility of an integral role (centreback) on a 19 year old who is inexperienced in such a role is pushing the envelope. Alternatively, one could argue that “age is just a number” and the cream will rise to the top. The likes of Paolo Maldini and Tony Adams took to top flight football as teenagers like proverbial ducks to a pond, though to give any young player such a hefty billing of being mentioned in the same sentence as either of those players is mischievously tempting fate.
With Arsenal thin on the ground with regards to centreback options Wenger has gone on record to say that he may well dip into the transfer market and add another defender to his squad. It would come as a surprise if this area isn’t addressed by the Frenchman, as any kind of serious injury to Koscielny or Mertesacker would leave Arsenal at a severe and worrying disadvantage. Having to rely on inexperienced potential or players forced to play out of position for any meaningful length of time rarely makes for a positive push for a title challenge, which is what a fair few fans and pundits are predicting for Arsenal this coming campaign.
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