Arsenal captain and defender Thomas Vermaelen has hinted that he may consider leaving the club in January after failing to get regular first-team opportunities at the club since the start of the season. Belgian defender Vermaelen was signed from Ajax a few years ago and he quickly established himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier league. This led to transfer rumours linking him with a move to Barcelona, which never became concrete. Since the rumours about Barcelona came up, Vermaelen has never been the same player. This has led to him being consistently dropped from the first team.
The World Cup is fast approaching and Vermaelen faces a strong fight to get into the national team. The Belgian squad is one of the strongest in the world right now with a lot of good players like Vincent Kompany, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, and Marouane Fellaini across the pitch. For the first time, Vermaelen has admitted that he needs to play regularly. He has said that if things do not improve, then January may be an option for him. He has thus hinted that he is ready to end his Arsenal career in order to play at the World Cup.
There has been no reports of any new interest from Barcelona in Vermaelen.
“I’ll have to think about that when it’s necessary. January is still a few months ahead. Of course, never playing will not be the ideal situation for me to go to the World Cup, that’s for sure. People ask me if I panic because I’m not playing a lot but I’m not. I have spoken to the manager but it will remain private between us. Things can happen in a split second and change my situation. That can happen tomorrow or next weekend,” said Vermaelen.