Thomas Vermaelen has admitted that he was a bit frustrated with lack of playing opportunities in the last season, but, he has also hinted that he is not planning to leave Arsenal at this point of time.
Vermaelen was appointed as the skipper of Arsenal after Robin Van Persie’s exit at the start of the last season. He was the first choice centre-back for Arsene Wenger and an absolute certainty in the starting XI.
But, his form deteriorated as the season progressed and he eventually lost his place in the starting XI. In the second half of the season, he was mostly warming the bench.
There had been speculations in the last few days that Vermaelen is unhappy with limited playing chances given to him by Arsene Wenger and he might decide to leave the club. But, the Belgian defender denied that in one of his interviews recently.
When asked about lack of playing opportunities in the last season, Vermaelen said, “It was obviously quite frustrating because I was not used to such kind of a scenario. But, there is nothing much you can do about that. When your form is poor, you deserve to sit out.”
“I didn’t take the decision of the manager negatively. His decision was purely based on form and I had no problem with that. But, you don’t feel good when you sit on the sidelines.”
Vermaelen is on the radar of a few big clubs including Napoli and Juventus this summer.
According to the reports, both Antonio Conte (manager of Juventus) and Rafa Benitez (newly appointed manager of Napoli) like Vermaelen’s style of play and both of them are eager to secure his services.
Vermaelen had joined Arsenal in June 2009 after leaving the Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam.
