Arsenal line up Swansea's Williams with Vermaelen's future uncertain

Wojciech Szczesny and Thomas Vermaelen of Arsenal pictured here in March, looks on from from the dug out in the match against Swansea City with Wojciech Szczesny (R). The Belgian has been linked with a move away from the North London club.(Getty Images)

Thomas Vermaelen is considered to be one of the finest centre-backs in the world with a wonderful eye for goal. No wonder the Arsenal captain scored a staggering six goals in the 2011-12 season to become the Premier League’s highest scoring defender for that particular edition. Yet the Belgian’s future at the club is now at the centre of discussion in the English media with reports emerging that Arsene Wenger has lined up influential Swansea defender Ashley Williams in order to reinforce the Gunners’ defence for the next season.

Since that fateful Champions League pre-quarter final first leg tie against Bayern Munich in February, Vermaelen spent the rest of the season warming the Arsenal bench. As a result of that poor display, Wenger put faith on the defensive partnership of Per Mertesacker and the brilliant Laurent Koscielny. And the German-French duo’s steady display literally earned the North London side a final Champions League spot, culminating with a ten-game unbeaten run.

So what is the reason for this sudden fall from grace for a player who was a symbol of calm and tranquillity over the past few seasons, amidst the chaos of big transfer moves for the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie? The last couple of seasons have seen Arsenal captains move out of the club but those were due to reasons of the players getting fed up of the Gunners’ lack of ambition and silverware, and it seems this summer too, Wenger will have to answer questions on his current captain’s future. But not because of the 27-year old Belgian’s intention to look elsewhere but more due to the fact the manager wants the Mertesacker-Koscielny defensive pairing to continue to blossom next season as he looks for an able back-up (in this case Swansea’s Williams, who has been heavily linked with club).

To be fair to the Belgian, he started the season reasonably well but a costly mistake against Manchester United at Old Trafford in November, allowed van Persie to score as early as the third minute, and that has severely dented his confidence. Wenger persisted with him, yet the former Ajax man lacked the mental strength to move on. A horrible performance against Bayern Munich in the Champions League at home sealed his fate, as Wenger had seen enough.

A famous 2-0 win in Munich followed, although Arsenal went out on the away goals rule but Koscielny’s performance in addition to Mertesacker’s international experience for Germany meant the Gunners maintained a water tight defence till the end of the season. Still one feels Vermaelen to be a better defender compared to Mertesacker and a few mistakes do not make him a bad player. For as good as the Belgium international, capped 42 times by his country, he has enough talent and class to fit in any of Europe’s top clubs. It’s just that the age old quote of “class is permanent while form is temporary,” which is now being attached to Vermaelen.

Vermaelen’s situation at Arsenal is very complicated at the moment with the fact that Belgium are on the verge of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and the defender knows that national team boss Marc Wilmots has the luxury of using other options at the back if he is left out in the cold come the 2013-14 season. If Williams indeed arrives at the club, Vermaelen would be considered fourth choice and the latter knows he will have to fight tooth and nail to regain his place at the heart of the Arsenal defence. While Wenger is a man known for his loyalty towards his designated captains and dedicated servants of the Emirates club, Vermaelen’s dreams of playing a big role in Belgium’s bid to qualify for Brazil and making a mark at the big event itself could force him to leave the club with, believe it or not, Manchester United extremely interested in attaining his services. This would mean that for the second season in a row the Red Devils would have lured two of Arsenal’s leaders to the Theatre of Dreams.

As far as Arsenal and Wenger are concerned, after watching van Persie make such a wonderful impact on arriving in Manchester last summer, the Frenchman would be dead against offloading his once trusted defensive general to a Premier League rival. Keeping Vermaelen at the club would be justified enough as it would increase the competition at the club with a rich array of defensive options for next season, which could possibly give the North London outfit enough leverage to win silverware after a long time.