Thomas Vermaelen has finally made his way away from the Emirates Stadium and his new destination is Camp Nou. He has been bought by Barcelona for 15 million Pounds and he is all set to feature in La Liga for the first time ever in his career.
Vermaelen’s departure to Barcelona is something that has happened all of a sudden. The Belgian centre back was initially linked to Manchester United, but, the deal between the Red Devils and Arsenal couldn’t get finalized due to some reason and after that, Blaugrana cashed in.
Barca was keen for one more centre-half after Jeremy Mathieu and they have got that in the form of Vermaelen now. There will be tough battle between these two for becoming the club’s first choice in the heart of defence.
Vermaelen’s stint at Arsenal was 5-year long. He played 150 matches in that period scoring 15 goals.
Vermaelen had been pivotal at the Emirates Stadium until the 2012-13 Season. Last season, he had seen a bit of a tough time because of the injuries. He had fallen down the pecking order too, but, he was still a key man for the Gunners.
Veramelen’s experience was an asset for Arsenal and his exit is certainly going to have some effects on their defence.
The Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has hinted that he would be bringing in somebody as a replacement for Vermaelen before the deadline day of the window.
Whoever comes in will have a lot of pressure on him because he will be expected to fill in big shoes.
When asked if he has his eyes on someone whom he wants to land at the club on the place of Vermaelen, Wenger said, “The possibility of a defender to be bought is very much there. I would not give you a particular name at this point of time though.”