Verm turns? Manchester United eye Arsenal misfit Thomas Vermaelen as Wenger ponders selling his skipper
Verm turns? Manchester United eye Arsenal misfit Thomas Vermaelen as Wenger ponders selling his skipper
Unlike with RvP last summer, Gunners would be willing
sellers after settling on Koscielny and Mertesacker as first-choice
centre-backs
World Cup willies: Vermaelen may struggle to make Belgium's squad from the Arsenal bench
Jan Kruger
Thomas Vermaelen is facing a make-or-break summer in his Arsenal career.
Gunners manager Arsene Wenger could be ready to listen to offers for his out-of-favour captain, as he looks to shake up his squad.
That has alerted several top clubs, including Manchester United, who are watching developments closely.
Unlike last year, when they reluctantly allowed Robin van Persie to move to their their rivals from Old Trafford, Arsenal would be willing sellers this time. Barcelona are also keeping tabs on the situation.
Vermaelen is understood to be keen to stay and fight for his place at Arsenal, even though he is no longer a guaranteed starter.
The
Belgium international has been edged out of the starting line-up, with
Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker becoming Wenger's first-choice
centre-back pairing.
Their partnership went from strength to
strength on the run-in, after Vermaelen was ruthlessly axed following a
March defeat at Tottenham which left the Gunners seven points behind
their North London neighbours in the race for Champions league
qualification.
Frenchman Koscielny enjoyed a great run of form and
built a good understanding with Mertesacker as Arsenal won eight out of
their last 10 games to clinch fourth place on the final day.
Arsenal 2012-13: With and without Vermaelen
Premier League only With Without Games 29 9 Wins 16 5 Draws 6 4 Losses 7 0 Goals For 61 11 Ave Goals For 2.10 1.22 Goals Against 34 3 Avg Goals Against 1.17 0.33 Win % 55 56 Points per game 1.86 2.11
The Gunners are absolutely determined to keep France international Koscielny, despite admiring glances from Bayern Munich.
Wenger's
decision to drop Vermaelen was an even bigger one as he wore the
armband, yet Mikel Arteta impressed after taking over as captain.
Arsenal are on the look-out to strengthen their defence
this summer - and that could mean a major headache for Vermaelen if he
stays, as a failure to play week-in and week-out could cost him a place
at next year's World Cup.
The 27-year-old is keen to stay in London because he is settled there and happy with his young family.
But
his descent from Arsenal captain and mainstay of the defence to
substitute has been swift and alarming and, even though he is under
contract until 2016, his future is now far from certain. Great Gunns: The Koscielny-Mertesacker partnership shone on the run-in
Shaun Botterill
Arsenal are looking to spend big on a stellar striker - Fiorentina’s Stevan Jovetic and Real Madrid's Gonzalo Higuain are on their radar - while they also want a midfielder and a keeper.
But there will also be a major clear-out, with Vermaelen the most unexpected potential departure.
Misfit
striker Marouane Chamakh has admitted he is willing to take a big
pay-cut to rejoin Bordeaux - the French club he left to become a Gunner -
and their president, Jean-Louis Triaud, is willing to start
negotiations.
Triaud said: “For me, we can talk about a return
when the player or his agent picks up the phone and calls me. For now,
it doesn’t happen.”
Another departure will be Andrey Arshavin,
Arsenal’s £90,000-a-week highest earner. Major League Soccer's LA
Galaxy, a return to his homeland and the Middle East are all options for
the former Russia captain.
French clubs Lyon and Marseille are
interested in taking ex-Lille star Gervinho back to Ligue 1, while
Nicklas Bendtner, Park Chu-Young, Andre Santos, Denilson, Johan Djourou
are all heading towards the exit.
Arsenal may have to pay off
Denilson, who has a year left on his contract, and may also face a
similar issue with other unwanted big earners.
The clear-out could
see the Gunners shave a staggering £350,000-a-week off the wage bill
ahead of a summe when they have £70m to spend on transfers.
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