Arsenal sign £10m Vermaelen

Comments

1. JonJon says:
   June 6, 2009 at 9:32 am

   I dont beleive it until Arsenal confirm it…

   and is he a player we need??? Wenger said we need experience…this lad isnt that…and if he’s only for backup i think 10 mils alot when we dont have much money anyway….

   its a gamble signing and i dont think we can afford any more gambles

   we’ll see though…
2. Randy says:
   June 6, 2009 at 9:34 am

   are you sure bout this because there is nothing on arsenal.com
3. goonerdan says:
   June 6, 2009 at 9:38 am

   how is he not experienced…He is Ajax captain and has captained his country… Many caps and appearances in Eredivise…VEry good positioning, same height as Vidiv good at attacking set peices and defending…Zapata is 22 and not even a regular for Udinese…I would be happy with this signing
4. arsenal says:
   June 6, 2009 at 9:47 am

   I’m from Belgium and this guy is not good enough to start. He’s great as a back-up. But 10 mil for a back-up, while Arshavin is 13 mil?
5. ThE MeGa GoOnEr says:
   June 6, 2009 at 9:53 am

   He is the perfect player arsenalneed but we have signed him but arsenal.com just haven’t announced the signing yet
6. Tim says:
   June 6, 2009 at 9:53 am

   Ok..I am sick of people saying he’s not experienced! This guy IS experienced! I’m not saying he’s the best choice for us, because I think Chiellini would be…but to say he’s not experienced then you are out of your mind! He’s been playing with Ajax since 2003!
7. superfly89 says:
   June 6, 2009 at 9:57 am

   Are you sure that source is to be trusted or correct. As i translated it with yahoo translator and couldnt make anything from it….It sounds to me that the article was saying that arsenal have offered around 11.5million euro’s. The translator wasn’t that great so im unsure…Anyone speak dutch? Or does anyone have Van Persie’s number to translate for us :p
8. Le Bob says:
   June 6, 2009 at 9:57 am

   “same height as Vidiv”

   Er, no. The lad is a mere 5.11/1.80 cm, that’s shorter than Toure. That is unless he’s grown tremedously since the meassured him before the season.
9. Ben Mills says:
   June 6, 2009 at 10:12 am

   In what way his he not experienced? The guy above explained that for me.

   And who says we need experience? We already have Gallas and Toure as his possible partners, we need to stop leaking goals from all areas of the pitch (which are hardly ever long balls) so we just need a better defender than Toure (sorry Kolo)

   If he is that guy (if we are in fact signing him of course, that report could be bull) who are we to complain?
10. Newmy says:
    June 6, 2009 at 10:13 am

    This guy will be great for us and i am tired of people saying he is too small!!! You must not know your football!!! Puyol 5ft10 and Canavaro 5ft9 and they both had pretty good success in the game??? Plus our guy is bigger than these two 5ft11. Obviously he has great heading abilities by his goals. You do not become a captain of your counrty or a club like Ajax unless you have something about you!!! Support this player.
11. Ben Mills says:
    June 6, 2009 at 10:14 am

    But he is not as tall as Vidic, you only need to check out Wiki for that. But he could leap like a salmon.
12. lil wayne says:
    June 6, 2009 at 10:15 am

    Never seen him play,hope he is good enough.I wouldn’t mind an early addition not our usual rubbish of 12 midnight of last day.
13. JonJon says:
    June 6, 2009 at 10:17 am

    goonerdan…

    how is he experienced???

    ajax arent the force they were and the dutch league in all fairness is a poor league….

    when i say experienced i mean we should be looking for a PL defender…or a defender who has proved themselves on the world stage….this lad hasnt done either…

    i dont think this lad would be better than what we have already in gallas and kolo and if hes just for backup 10mil is too much….
14. OrangeSoda says:
    June 6, 2009 at 10:44 am

    I don’t know if it’s true or not. But if we have signed him….in Arsene I trust
15. in `arsene i trust says:
    June 6, 2009 at 10:44 am

    this guy is not 5ft 10inch…..he is 6ft 1 inch…..he is just 1cm shorter than vidic..n he is tough…..most importantly he is very good in air…..he commands the box very well…n have a good leadership quality…this is wat u all have been looking for….we arsenal fans just cant stop criticising….he is wat we need tall center back..i repeat tall center back….
16. Matthewknows says:
    June 6, 2009 at 10:52 am

    if this is true he wont be back up, toure will be moved up field as a defensive midfielder which may mean were not going to buy 1 of those this season, similar thing happened with eboue when we bought sagna…. lets hope toure will play better in his new position than eboue did when he moved to his new position
17. Andes says:
    June 6, 2009 at 10:53 am

    when comes to signing, who has the BEST record (in terms of value for money) than Arsene Wenger?
18. JonJon says:
    June 6, 2009 at 11:05 am

    we are talking about defenders here…

    does stepanovs,senderos, cygan, silvestre mean anything to you…

    all wenger signings and all flops….

    we dont even know if weve signed this lad so why are we getting all excited???

    this is the problem with some arsenal fans…they have been calling for signings for that long that they are happy to see anyone bought…

    and the other problem with arsenal fans is that they trust wenger that much they will also be happy to see anyone bought because they think wenger will make them stars…

    wenger doesnt do defenders…he never has…so signing a defender who is unheard of is a big big risk…especially for ten million…

    we all need to relax and assess the situation properly…

    1. is he better then an invincible player in kolo??

    2. is he better than a PL winner and world class CB in gallas????

    3. we already have a tall CB in JD…is he better than JD…im sure JD would look good in the dutch league aswell….

    if the answer to these questions is no..then why spend 10mil on him???

    there are plenty of other defenders out there….

    we dont know if weve even signed him yet…so lets not get too worked up about it…

    if weve signed him then it means either gallas or kolo are off and id rather keep them both and not sign him and buy a midfelder instead… the midfield is where we really do need new players….
19. Arsenal1Again says:
    June 6, 2009 at 11:07 am

    How well known was Vidic before Man Utd? Bergkamp, Overmars and Van Persie will know all about him and would advise Wenger. If 10 million was spent on a defender, that defender is going to be something very special judging by Wenger’s usual pattern of spending.
20. piken79 says:
    June 6, 2009 at 11:07 am

    I’ll trust whoever Wenger buys…if we signed him, I say welcome to Arsenal FC and wish him the best of luck, I will NOT reject a player before he proves himself
21. JonJon says:
    June 6, 2009 at 11:14 am

    im not rejecting him..

    lets say we spend 10mil on him…a huge chunk of our budget…that we have to be shrewd with

    then our defence will have gallas, kolo, JD, song, silvestre, Senderos, TW..

    thats 7 into 2…it doesnt go…so who is he replacing???

    if he’s only coming for backup then 10mil is bet spent elsewhere…
22. Keitel says:
    June 6, 2009 at 11:14 am

    As far as i am concerned there is no truth to this until its announced and if it hasnt been announced by now then it hasnt happened. From what i have seen of him he looks pretty good tacticaly and positionally however we need 1 other center back alongside him, i like gallas and tour very much but i think they are both past it, djourou isnt quite there yet either.
23. Arsenal1Again says:
    June 6, 2009 at 11:30 am

    @ JONJON

    Toure our ‘Invincible’ …. so was Clichy (sick of telling so called Gooners this). Toure gave two penalties away during the season before last. One cost us a Champions League Semi-Final place at Anfield. Invincibe was, now he’s a chubby chub.

    Gallas world class? lol. He can’t jump. Blames others for his mistakes and a coward against Hangeland during the Fulham defeat. Prem winner? So are Toure and Silvestre. How are Senderos and Silvestre flops. In 14 games Silvestre had a tackle rate of 100% and how much experience and success did he get at Old Trafford. Toure was our top centre-half last season. Vermaelen is the biz in the air. Ajax Captain, Belgium Captain, Ajax player of the year, very high work-rate, not injury prone, battler, dangerous in the opponents box and 10million spent on him says it all really.
24. Danish Gooner says:
    June 6, 2009 at 11:38 am

    Why is everyone so obsessed with how tall he is,at 180 cm he isnt exactly a dwarf and several articles tell us that he outjumps most tall attackers in the eresdivisie,so that ought to be good enough.
25. Ben Mills says:
    June 6, 2009 at 12:03 pm

    Gallas is a world class defender, but Toure just “good”.

    Gallas needs a proper partner, and Djourou is not the answer. If this guy does it, who are we to argue?

    And Toure will not move into midfield, Denilson is doing good enough job, if we are going to replace him with anyone, it will not be the “good” center back, who would be totally average in midfield.
26. bill says:
    June 6, 2009 at 12:04 pm

    guys need to atleast grow up, watch what the coach is doing. If you knew anything, become coaches, them one time an opportunity might come your way to manage arsenal.
    I an tired, tired…………of all these petty complaints that keep coming through this site.
27. GUNNA_H says:
    June 6, 2009 at 12:49 pm

    vermaelen is not going to be back up for 10m let me tell you now, he IS going to be one of our two centre backs and at the begining of the season he will be the partner of toure as gallas will be injured. Then it later will be seen whether gallas is the one that takes the place of toure and we will also see what chances djourou gets. I think this means senderos will be sold for around 5m.
28. gooner says:
    June 6, 2009 at 12:56 pm

    once again you show yourself to not know what you re talking about
29. dom says:
    June 6, 2009 at 12:59 pm

    sell gallas, we don’t need his bad attitude

    vermaelen and djouru/song/toure at the back!
30. Ben Mills says:
    June 6, 2009 at 1:01 pm

    “sell gallas, we don’t need his bad attitude”

    I think it has been proven that we do need him at the back.
31. Rhyle says:
    June 6, 2009 at 1:03 pm

    Agreed that this guy doesn’t strike me immediately as the dominant, physical centre back we need but does anyone remember us buying a centreback from Monaco back in ’97? A gentleman by the name of Emmanuel Petit…
32. GoonerC says:
    June 6, 2009 at 1:09 pm

    we havn’t signed him until arsenal.com says we have. Personally i blieve their are much beter cb’s in the world than vermaelan.
33. GoonerC says:
    June 6, 2009 at 1:11 pm

    excuse the bad spelling. lol
34. Erichero says:
    June 6, 2009 at 1:25 pm

    I’m just interested to know how people on this board knew what we were getting when we signed Sagna. For all this nonsense about Wenger not signing good defenders, Sagna is a perfect example of a “nobody” signing that was another feather in Wenger’s impeccable transfer market hat.
35. Am'z says:
    June 6, 2009 at 2:10 pm

    orite lads lets say we got this guy AND Dzeko as his agent mentioned we made a bid for him,i would recon around £10m aswel,hw much money left we gonna have????????thats the biiiiiig worry,coz these 2 would be great adding 2 the squad BT NOT THE 1ST CHOICE THE TEAM NEEDS right????we need a GIANT defender and TOUGH DM,personally i wil go for LESCOTT & Toure we should also try n get SENNA a i would think he il b cheap coz of his age bt stil reallllli gd no doubt,4 at least few more years,think £25m or so il get them 3 rather than £20m on players we dnt reali need now,plus we SHOLDNT sell Ade,the guy iz good people,he jus had a bad year like EVEY SINGLE ARSENAL PLAYER had the previous season.hope we add at least 3 players tho.goonerz4life
36. Agate says:
    June 6, 2009 at 2:24 pm

    When wenger bought song,he was wenger’s worse buy,but now he has grown to be a player we all love to see on d pitch.thomas will be an experienced player in arsenal.remember we’re arsenal,not chelsea that use player as bought
37. Ben Mills says:
    June 6, 2009 at 2:48 pm

    Why do we need a giant at center back? Our problem has not been long balls, corners etc, it is general defending that requires good defenders, not a big lump like Lescott or Hangeland.

    As for a “TOUGH GM”, no, we need a defensive player. Not a tough guy.
38. ClockEndofTimes says:
    June 6, 2009 at 2:58 pm

    Gallas is most likely on his way – unfortunate, but given his injuries and the captaincy debacle, it’s time for both parties to move on. Toure is a shadow of his former self and is off to the ANC. Silvestre isn’t good enough, in fact, he’s dire (just re-watch some of his classics like the FA Cup Semi against Chelsea). Song has looked assured back there, but he will also be off to the ANC. Djourou can look great one match and average the next. Senderos is about to be sold.

    Right now, we need to sign this generation’s Sol Campbell (circa 2001). I rate Lescott, but it can’t be said that he’s currently in that category as one of the best in the world. Moreover, if Everton decide to sell, they will demand £16-20m knowing City will meet the valuation .

    I rate Bruno Alves as the best defender currently available. With Carvalho likely off to Inter and given Chelsea’s existing CBs (1. Terry, 2. Alex, 3. Invanovic 4. Mancienne) we might have an open run at him.

    The other really impressive CB is Dmytro Chyhrynskyi who just led Donetsk to the UEFA cup. He is 190cm (6’3), strong in the air and also a good distributor of the ball and has a lot of experience for 22. Bassong would have been worth an inquiry, but it appears he’s going to accept a call up from Cameroon and also be off to the ANC.

    Vermaelen appears to offer toughness and an edge we are clearly lacking. Importantly, he can play fullback and potentially allow us to release Silvestre or demote him to 5th/6th choice. Finally, he already speaks English and I’d think he also speaks some French – so he shouldn’t have any problems communicating with the squad or adapting to life in London coming from Amsterdam.

    As for funding these transfers, Adebayor (£20+), Senderos (£5m), Gallas (£5m) and hopefully Diaby (£6m) will be sold which will go a long way towards balancing the books as well as removing two of our top wage earners in Ade and Gallas.
39. mike says:
    June 6, 2009 at 3:09 pm

    it looks like he is coming to arsenal it will take a day or two for arsenal to confirm it
40. Lil gunner says:
    June 6, 2009 at 3:15 pm

    Arsene needs experience. i think we’re better off with keepin senderos rather then spend 10 mil.
    also i feel this signing will mean silvestre is out! and good riddens too. if anything we need more players in our team otherwise its another season of having to play someone in a different position.. e.g song at centre back or like eboue at left back etc etc
41. Arse&Nose says:
    June 6, 2009 at 5:14 pm

    There is only one question we need to ask when looking for a new defender…

    Is he good enough NOT to be Drogba’ed?

    at 5’10 I have to say no this guy is not good enough, and will not provide the brute force, physical strength and aerial ability we lack in our defence.
42. senderos' mum says:
    June 6, 2009 at 5:30 pm

    stop debating about this
    we havent signed him
    we wont sign him
    this guy is just looking for hits on his shitty blog
    until arsenal says the deal is done….he hasnt signed
    end of!
43. saifulazrul says:
    June 6, 2009 at 5:45 pm

    Wait and see……….
44. GoonerBoy says:
    June 6, 2009 at 6:02 pm

    I am ably informed he will play a defensive role in midfield.
45. Gooney says:
    June 6, 2009 at 6:11 pm

    How much do you rekon we could get Chiellini for?
46. luke says:
    June 6, 2009 at 6:38 pm

    “Agreed that this guy doesn’t strike me immediately as the dominant, physical centre back we need but does anyone remember us buying a centreback from Monaco back in ‘97? A gentleman by the name of Emmanuel Petit…”

    you said what I’ve been thinking for a few days….

    …good attacking and set play instincts with defensive experience. buy him early, get him working (running 10km a day) before preseason and make him a DM who can cover CB in time. Keep Gallas and toure.

    makes perfect sense to me.
47. messi says:
    June 6, 2009 at 9:21 pm

    fucking hell whats wrong with some of you arsenal fans man shit lee dixon is right about arsenal fans are spoilt and who are u all to say his too short or tall or inexperienced or not someone who we need lol i dont understand you guys i bet some of you guys who even say this aint seen the guy play CORRECT OR WHAT i think we just need to shut up stick to the players the team and most of all ARSENE WENGER and then let him and IVAN GAZIDIZ deal with the transfer negotiations instead of all you fools saying “i prefer chiellini, mexes, canavaro, toure, puyol, hangeland, bassong ” ARE U GUYS PART OF THE CLUB OR THE BOARD OR EVEN KNOW ARSENE TO RECOMMEND SOMEBODY LOL SILLY FANS
48. donbraye says:
    June 6, 2009 at 9:24 pm

    i haven’t watch this guy but i believe in wenger that he will not buy a player that will not help the squad….well for me Thomas vermaelen u are welcome to a great club

    In Arsene i trust
    Love Guuner till i die…lol
49. hauzman says:
    June 6, 2009 at 10:00 pm

    Trust me,

    Thomas Vermaelen is one of the best defenders of Belgium. (I should know, I AM Belgian)
    He is one of the most talented generation Belgium has ever had. Kompany, Fellaini, Dembele (also a good player for Arsenal, if you ask me), Defour, Witsel,…

    Vermaelen has enough experience, because he’s the captain of Ajax. If you are captain of Ajax Amsterdam, you don’t suck. Vermaelen is a good choice, just give him a chance and you will see.
50. harandiah says:
    June 7, 2009 at 2:31 am

    I thought arsene will chase after Lescot instead…..but if it is true it must special about this guy to arsene.

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