What next for Arsenal’s Thomas Vermaelen?

Of the many players Arsenal have signed over the years, very few have experienced a debut season as impressive as the one Thomas Vermaelen had in 2009-10. The 6-foot Belgian defender exuded raw power and showcased a variety of technical skills, honed at the renowned Dutch club Ajax, as he breathed some much needed confidence into an Arsenal back four who had just lost a defensive stalwart in Kolo Toure to Manchester City. A versatile player comfortable with the ball at his feet and with the goal at his mercy, ‘The Verminator’ finished his first season with the Gunners with 8 goals and a spot in the PFA Team of the Season.

Fast forward to 2013 and he finds himself a shadow of his former self. Promoted to captain before the season began, which was largely due to the fact that he was one of the senior most members of the squad who had been at the club the longest, Vermaelen is now struggling to find a place in the first team. Dropped after a string of terrible performances, he has also lost the captaincy to Mikel Arteta.

A lot was expected of Vermaelen once he was handed the responsibility of leading the club this season. But it looks like the pressure of captaincy has brought about his downfall as a defender. Time and again, it has been his mistakes that have led to the opposition scoring goals; the most memorable ones being allowing Robin van Persie to open the scoring at Old Trafford, Spurs taking the lead in the North London Derby and Bayern’s goals at the Emirates.

His positioning in the back line has come under severe scrutiny after failing to maintain a high line and catch the opponents offside, a tactic instrumental in Arsenal’s defending. He has been guilty of stepping up too late as the number of times he has caught opponents offside is much lower than that of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny.

Quite often, he bombards forward and leaves the defense vulnerable to counters. This was a tactic that worked last season as Arsenal had Alex Song to cover for him. But in the absence of a pure defensive midfielder, Arteta has been asked to do the dirty work and he isn’t quite adept at breaking up play and hence leaves the side prone to counter attacks.

We have seen Koscielny do the same but he puts a leash on himself and doesn’t bomb forward at the drop of a hat. Instead, he recognizes when the situation demands the extra player and uses it to the team’s advantage. And Koscielny is very quick to get back to his position when Arsenal loses possession. Last year, I’d talked about how Koscielny was Arsenal’s best centre back. I still maintain that stance. And although he made a couple of mistakes on his comeback from injury (the home game against Chelsea springs to mind), his recent performances are the main reason why Vermaelen finds himself on the bench.

After Vermaelen was dropped for the second leg of the Champions League game against Bayern Munich, Koscielny and Mertesacker have forged a superb partnership at the back. A clean sheet at the Allianz Arena meant that Arsenal were the first team to stop Bayern from scoring all season – a team that has scored 142 goals this season so far! Koscielny and Mertesacker complement each other very well. Mertesacker, after almost two seasons in the Premier League, has improved tremendously and has marshalled the defensive line surprisingly well. Both Koscielny and Mertesacker have scored some crucial goals in important matches as well. Vermalen, who scored some fantastic goals early in his Arsenal career, has managed just one in the League Cup against Bradford and also missed the crucial penalty kick resulting in Arsenal’s elimination.

So where does that leave Vermaelen in the scheme of things? Over the last couple of months, Arsenal have kept quite a few clean sheets and have been the in-form team in the League. They haven’t lost a game since the 2-1 loss to Tottenham in March and have collected 20 points from a possible 24 as they push for a Champions League spot. In this crucial period, it is highly unlikely that Wenger will break up a solid partnership at the back to include Vermaelen in the side. With Arsenal playing relegation battlers Wigan and Newcastle in the final two games of the season, and every point literally worth millions, this is definitely not the right time to experiment with a different combination.

For now, Vermaelen will have to be content with a place on the bench. He will have to work his way back into the first team, but only next season. Rumours of his exit are bound to crop up but let’s not read into that rubbish; it is a ridiculous notion. He’s still a capable defender who is currently experiencing a blip and Wenger wouldn’t sell a defender like Vermaelen at this stage of his career.

Both Vermaelen and Szczesny were dropped at the same time before the trip to Munich. Szczesny has come back stronger, partly due to Fabianski’s injury, and has put in some inspiring performances between the sticks. Whether Vermaelen can bounce back from this predicament remains to be seen. He’s a professional and it is obvious from his behaviour. He loves the club and if he puts his mind to it, it won’t be long before he finds himself in the first team, proudly wearing the captain’s armband on his sleeve again.