Thomas Vermaelen became a popular name in the football circles following his transfer to Premier League giants Arsenal in 2009. Such was his impact at Arsenal that he was named in the PFA Team of the Year in his debut season. Thomas Vermaelen joined Arsenal from Dutch team Ajax Amsterdam and he went on to captain the Gunners when Robin Van Persie betrayed the Arsenal fans by signing for rivals Manchester United in 2012. Robin Van Persie was the Arsenal captain, while Thomas Vermaelen was the vice-captain before the Dutchman left Arsenal to join the Red Devils.
With a year left on his Gunners deal, Arsenal had no choice but to sell him for the £24m transfer fee or risk losing him for free. Thomas Vermaelen spent two seasons at Arsenal as the skipper before Barcelona came calling in the summer of 2014 in a £15m deal.
Vermaelenplays his club football now in Japan for top flight team Vissel Kobe. The 35-year-old has had a good career for the Belgian national team and he’s still available for selection ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament in Qatar with qualifiers set to start in the European section next month. He has two goals in 78 appearances for the Belgian national team and was a member of the team that did well at the last edition of the FIFA World Cup in Russia. Thomas Vermaelen and Belgium finished as the third best team in Russia. Ahead of the qualifiers in March 2021, Belgium are still the number one team in the world according to the latest FIFA Rankings. Thomas Vermaelen featured for Belgium at the u-19 European Championship and at the2007 u-21 European Championship. The ex-Arsenal utility defender made his debut for the senior team against lowly Luxembourg in March 2006.
