Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen has been in the limelight to leave the club this summer and two clubs were eagerly interested to sign him, Man United and Barcelona.
However, Arsene Wenger was adamant that he will not let the Belgian join any premier league rival and he has done exactly that.
Hence, the former Ajax star departs to join Catalan giants Barcelona.
According to reports, Arsenal and Barcelona have agreed £15 million deal to let Thomas Vermaelen join Nou Camp.
Gunner supporters are delighted that they are getting decent sum for their third choice defender but as far as Barca are concerned, is he really good enough to play for them.
Barcelona have well known defensive fragility, exposed on many occasions last season and no one has been able to replace the leader they had in Puyol.
Mascherano might have been brilliant for Argentina in the World Cup as a holding midfielder but with Barcelona, he had a very inconsistent season playing as a center back alongside Gerard Pique.
Hence it makes complete sense that Enrique wants to reinforce defense. However, signing Vermaelen might not be a good idea.
The Belgian star has mostly warmed the bench for the Gunners in the past two season mainly because of his weak defending and strong partnership formed by Koscielny and Mertesacker.
He has been exposed frequently in the English premier league and now he is joining a league where goalscoring is more fun and less focus is on defending.
We shall see how the move turns out for the Catalan giants.
Follow Soccerisma on Twitter: Soccerisma
DONE: Arsenal Agree Star Deal but is He really Good Enough to Play for Barcelona
(Visited 50 times, 1 visits today)
Premier League
La Liga
Bundesliga
Serie A
Ligue 1
UCL
WENGER, WILL BE FOOL, IF YOU ARE TO LAY YOUR DEFENSIVE-MIDFIED ROLE UPON SOMEONE THAT IS NOT CAPABLE. SIGN A AND LETS LEAVE THE REST. WHICH WILL LATER BE; YOU DO YOUR BEST AND LEAVE THE REST FOR GOD.@J.F.1
Why not get back Song from Barcelona? He is our second best player in 2012, and we have no decent DM at this moment….
TV was a great defender and scorer of goals when he joined Arsenal…injuries shoved him off the bench and he lost confidence. All he needs is a change of scene. I wish him well, and II’m sure, most Gunners.
We will miss him,he was great when he joined Arsenal a few years ago,unfortunately injuries brought him down and competition between Per,Koscielny and him was so high. We wish Vermaelen all the best. Meanwhile its high time Wenger offload the likes of Diaby and by January if Giroud failed to increase his work load or improve in his work rate he also should be sold. No sacred cow at Arsenal,competition is stiff out there and we need fighters to face those challenges not lazy guys.
I am happy he hasn’t gone to MU.However the defence,imho,is still an issue.The big German
maybe able to read the game but in a one on one he will be beaten. You just watch the penalties he has conceded.
Hopefully if Wenger plays his high tempo attacking game he will be mindful of the goals conceded against the top 3.
It’s a good move for him since he had run out of favour at the emirates.
Wish him all the best.