Category: Football News

MAY LEAVE

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.

WILSHERE LIMPS OFF

Jack Wilshere was recently substituted much earlier in the recent 1-0 win over Tottenham during the weekend. This spelled bad news for England and Roy Hodgson because they have two crucial World Cup qualifying matches in the next few days.

England have already lost a number of key personnel just prior to this match. The likes of Liverpool defender Glen Johnson and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney are unlikely to be involved in the match after missing matches for the club during the weekend. Wilshere is seen as one of the important players for the England national team. Continue reading WILSHERE LIMPS OFF

Thomas Vermaelen to remain Arsenal skipper

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger stated that Thomas Vermaelen will remain the club captain despite there being doubts about him being fit for the start of the new Premier League season as well as his ability to force himself back into the starting berth. The Belgian international has long been dogged by fitness issues and his recent injury woe has kept him out of the club’s pre-season tour of the Far East.

But according to Wenger, the defender is still central to his plans and will remain the club’s captain. The Arsenal manager dropped the centre back for the club’s UEFA Champions League win against Bayern Munich in Germany in March and the defender found him on the fringes of the action since then. He was left on the bench for the final ten Premier League matches of the club as the manager preferred the partnership of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny at the heart of the defense.

Only once when the German international Mertesacker was serving a suspension did Thomas Vermaelen did start in a home win against minnows Norwich City. Wenger admitted that the injury issues might force the player to miss the start of the new season amidst question marks over the future of the 27 year old at the club. Reports from Spain have suggested Barcelona has shortlisted the defender as a target to cover the ageing Carles Puyol. The Belgian international will also be worried by the fact that Arsenal is chasing Swansea City defender Ashley Williams.

And for Thomas Vermaelen, the next season being a World Cup year, he knows that he needs to play regularly if he wants to board the flight to Rio with Belgium who are looking good to qualify. But Wenger has reiterated that the media should not read too much into the player’s absence from the tour.

BOULD HAS AN IMPACT

Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen has praised the impact of the new assistant manager Steve Bould, who has become the replacement for Pat Rice. The long serving assistant manager decided to step down from his post at the end of last season, which has left a major void in the club.

The club are already suffering from the departure of David Dean many seasons ago. However, the Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen has said that he is extremely pleased with the impact of the new assistant manager Steve Bould, who has replaced Pat Rice efficiently in the first few weeks of the training.

Thomas Vermaelen has been linked with a move to Barcelona, but the 24-year-old defender quashed any rumours by saying that he would like to commit his future to Arsenal. He has said that this season has been extremely different because Arsenal have been making crucial signings in many areas of the pitch. Even though the departure of Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott has been spoken about, Thomas Vermaelen reckons that the arrival of players like Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski goes a long way into satisfying the needs of the first team even if Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott leave the club. Hopefully they can get off on the right foot in the Sunderland and Swansea City fixtures.

“Steve is really good to work with, especially for defenders as he has been a defender himself. He knows what it is all about and gives us a lot of tips. He works a lot on the shape of the team and that is very important, so I am very happy he came to work with the first team. He is very focused on details. A lot of players, because we are getting older, we know how to play. But he looks at details and the shape of your body and to be honest I am learning a lot from him,” said Vermaelen.

 

BE CAREFUL WITH FREEBIES

Freebets offered by online bookmakers are a very valuable resource and a great way to increase your winnings, and although they say that you should never look a gift horse in the mouth, here we will look at the kind of small print that is often included in the bookmakers’ freebet terms and conditions.

Note that these vary from bookmaker to bookmaker, so our comments are general rather than applying to any specific bookmakers.

You will always find that when it comes to freebets, some bookmakers are much more generous than others, so it pays to shop around or use a comparison site such as freebets.com.

In order to qualify for a freebet you will need to open an account with the bookmaker and deposit some money into it. You will then need to make a bet of up to a stated maximum amount and you will receive a free bet of that amount.

That is the headline, but there will always be a note that ‘terms and conditions apply’; although small print is always boring to read, with freebets it pays to read them carefully or you might find that you will lose out.

Often they include a time limit: for instance, you might need to make your first cash bet within 10 or perhaps 30 days of opening your account otherwise you will forfeit your freebet. Also there is very often a clause that states that the bet must be made on a selection with minimum odds, often 2/1 or evens.

If the bet is a multiple bet such as an accumulator, then the minimum odds will apply to at least one of your selections. Sometimes with a multiple bet if the first selection is at odds of greater than a specified number, say 4/1, then all the other selections are permitted to be below 2/1. Also if for any reason your original bet is voided, it does not qualify for a freebet.

When you make your freebet, if it is successful you will receive your winnings on that bet but you will not receive your stake. Also you should note how long you are allowed to use your freebet as they are generally time limited.

VERMAELEN PRAISES KOSCIELNY

Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen has said that one of the main reasons for the uplift of fortunes for Arsenal in the second half of the season has been the form of defender Laurent Koscielny.

Laurent Koscielny arrived at Arsenal a few seasons ago, but this game was full of errors in the initial few matches for Arsenal. This led many to believe that the Frenchman was a big disaster for Arsenal, but having been in the Premier league for quite a while now, the defender is beginning to show his true value to the club.

His excellent interceptions and reading of the game has meant that Arsenal have been able to make ground on their rivals like Chelsea and Tottenham, despite their good start to the season.

Continue reading VERMAELEN PRAISES KOSCIELNY

VERMAELEN WANTS TO STAY

Arsenal’s Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen has said that he is looking to repay the faith Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has had him in to sign him for the Premier league club. Thomas Vermaelen has been one of the best defenders for Arsenal ever since arriving at the club a few seasons ago.

Despite the lack of height, the Belgian defender has been able to compensate by some excellent defending. Now, he has said that he wants to stay with Arsenal for the rest of his career, and is also in debt to Arsene Wenger for allowing him the chance to play in one of the best leagues in the world.

Thomas Vermaelen was a £ 7.5 million signing from Dutch club Ajax. He was initially expected to be the backup for William Gallas, who was ageing. However, he not only managed to play alongside William Gallas, but is also proving to be more than suitable replacement for the Frenchman.

He recently extended his contract up until 2015, and is one of the important players at the club. He has also said that he feels that Arsenal should be considered as one of the top clubs in Europe, despite the fact that they have not won the Champions League.

Continue reading VERMAELEN WANTS TO STAY

COMMITMENT MAKES VERMAELEN CULT HERO

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said that one of the reasons for Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen to be a cult hero at Arsenal is his commitment to the club. Arsenal were very tough situation in the summer after the departure of some of Nasri and Cesc Fabregas.

Just when it seemed that they were about to lose all their top stars to other clubs, Thomas Vermaelen penned a new four year contract with the club. The Belgian defender was coming on the back of a injury hit season, but was still able to commit to the club who had shown great interest to bring him from Belgium.

Even though the season has not exactly gone in the way they would have wanted, Arsenal fans can look forward to seeing their club qualify for the next season’s Champions League. Qualifying for this elite European competition is very important for a club like Arsenal because it would not only help them retain their current stars, but also provide them with very important cash to attract even more. Just at the turn of this year, Arsenal looked to be out of the race to finish in the top four, but we have just moved into the third position following a spectacular run of form.

Continue reading COMMITMENT MAKES VERMAELEN CULT HERO

PUT THE NIGHTMARE BEHIND US

Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen has said that Arsenal do need to put behind their nightmare 4-0 humiliation at the San Siro in order to perform well in the remaining competitions. Arsenal do not have a chance of winning the Premier league this season, as they are too many points behind leaders Manchester City at the stage of the season. They have already been eliminated from the Carling cup this season. The FA Cup remains the only hope for Arsenal to win a trophy. Ironically, the FA cup of the last trophy Arsenal lifted back in 2005.

Arsenal will be facing Premier league club Sunderland in the fifth round of the FA Cup. They will be competing for a place in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup. Arsene Wenger will be aware of the fact that if Arsenal make it into the quarterfinals, then it would be only a matter of two games before Arsenal reach the finals. Thomas Vermaelen has been one of the influential players for Arsenal over the last few seasons. However, he is yet to win a major trophy with Arsenal. In order to do so, Thomas Vermaelen has said that the players should be forgetting the 4-0 defeat and concentrate on the forthcoming matches.

“When you are a professional you put the bad things that happen behind you. We have to give something back to all those Arsenal fans who came all the way out here, only for us to disappoint them. We will have to learn our lessons from what happened in Milan, but it is important at times like this to remain mentally strong,” Vermaelen said. It is also the priority for Arsenal to qualify for the Champions League next season, without the lack of which will result in serious financial implications.

VERMAELEN RETURNS EARLY

Thomas Vermaelen, the Arsenal centre back, is in line to face The Red Devils Manchester United in the return fixture of English Premier League on the 22nd of January, 2012, according to Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

The Belgian international centre back limped off the field in the second half during their English Premier League encounter against Queens Park Rangers, a match they went on to win 1-0, sparking rumours that the injury prone defender would be out for some time. But according to the manager, Vermaelen has made a rapid recovery and is already back in training and looks good to make his comeback against the reigning English champions.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the FA Cup encounter against Leeds United, the Arsenal manager said that none of his players on the recovery table will be making a comeback in their FA Cup tie or the English Premier League tie against Swansea City. However, in news that is sure to spark joy amongst the Arsenal fans, Wenger did add that their dependable centre back Thomas Vermaelen would be making a comeback by the time they face Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium, a match that is being seen as a grudge match after Arsenal were thrashed 8-2 at Old Trafford at the start of the season.

Continue reading VERMAELEN RETURNS EARLY