Thomas Vermaelen made a fine start to his Arsenal career. His debut season in England saw him put in some spectacular performances, which led to his inclusion in the PFA Team of the Season in 2010. However, his fortunes have drastically changed since then, with a number of lengthy injuries causing him to lose his form and confidence.

The Belgian is in desperate need of rejuvenation, and he believes a move away with regular first team football will be the solution to his woes. Both Manchester United and Barcelona are looking at the 28 year old, but Arsenal are reluctant to sell without first identifying a replacement.

Wenger is looking for a young centre-back who can lead the defence for many years to come. Many names have been thrown about, but here's five centre-backs that could replace Vermaelen:

Matija Nastasić

The first option is Serbian defender Matija Nastasić. The 21 year old is currently under contract with Manchester City, however it is believed they're open to selling the youngster as they have new signing Eliaquim Managala to accommodate, as well as Karim Rekik, who has recently returned after an impressive loan spell with PSV Eindhoven.

Nastasić would suit Arsenal as he has an excellent passing range, which was demonstrated in the 2013/14 season when he finished with a remarkable passing accuracy of 90.8%. He is also very strong in the air, thanks to his 6’1” build. Although City are likely to be reluctant to sell to a Premier League rival, and may look to move him on elsewhere, with Roma and Inter Milan also reportedly interested in the young Serbian.

Chris Smalling

Another option is Chris Smalling, the Englishman had a below-par season with Manchester United and was part of the heavily disappointing England squad from the World Cup. Wenger is known to be an admirer of the 24 year old, as he tried to sign him from Fulham. Smalling is more experienced than Nastasić he therefore may be a little more unhappy with being third-choice at Arsenal.

Smalling's main strength is his ariel ability, but the Englishman too often loses his concentration. Wenger could use United's interest in Vermaelen as leverage if he wanted to do a deal that brings the England international to the Emirates.

Kyriakos Papadopoulos

The Greek defender rarely featured for Schalke during the Bundesliga, managing just four appearances due to injuries throughout the season. Schalke rate the 22 year old very highly and have repeatedly rejected bids for Kyriakos from Liverpool. The centre-back is valued at around £20 million.

His strengths include passing, tackling and ball interception. He's 6' so he's also dominant in the air. All of his strengths do come at a cost, however, with the defender having an appalling discipline record. Even though he only made 4 appearances last season, he still managed to get himself sent off.

Fabian Schär

Schär has quickly risen to the top. He had an impressive World Cup with Switzerland, including an excellent performance against the eventual runners-up, Argentina. He was part of the FC Basel side that reached the Europa League semi-finals in 2013, where they were eventually knocked out by Chelsea. Next season, FC Basel got their revenge. Schär and co. met Chelsea in the group stages. Basel managed to do the double over the Londoners thanks to their resilient defensive performances, which Schär was at the heart of.

Not only is he defensively excellent, he also has a number of qualities that are key to succeeding at Arsenal. He's very strong and unlike Papadopoulos, he has an impressive disciplinary record. He would need to work on his passing if he were to join Arsenal, though, as last season he averaged a 77.3% pass completion rate. The 22 year old is already vastly experienced and could be available for as little as £10 million.

Stefan de Vrij

The Netherlands World Cup star has been linked with a plethora of clubs including Manchester United, Southampton and Lazio. But the 22 year old is a perfect fit for Arsenal. Last season he had a respectable 86.6% pass completion rate. Unlike Chris Smalling, concentration is one of his biggest assets as he's an excellent reader of the game.

The Feyenoord centre-back is already well experienced as he was key to Netherlands success. He completed ninety minutes for every game apart from the Netherlands opening game against Spain, in which is completed seventy-seven minutes. But he was so impressive he even picked up the Man of the Match award during the third-place playoff against Brazil.

It's believed that de Vrij could be signed for around €8 million, regardless of his outstanding season, he's in the final year of his contract which will certainly lower his price.

There are many other young centre-backs that are capable of playing for Arsenal, including Aymeric Laporte of Athletic Bilbao, River Plate's Eder Alvarez Balanta and Lyon's Samuel Umtiti.