Arsenal's longstanding defender and club captain, Thomas Vermaelen has been linked with a move to Manchester United for around a month now and a deal looks to be close. A fee in the region of £10m was reportedly agreed between the two clubs in previous weeks, but Wenger was keen to block the move and rightfully did so. However, it seems now that the possibility of losing Vermaelen next summer when his current contract expires is something Wenger would like to prevent.
The Belgian international joined the club from Ajax in 2009, made his debut in a 1-6 win at Goodison Park in which he scored, becoming the 84th Arsenal player to score on their debut. Vermaelen quickly transitioned into the Premier League and was even included in the PFA team of the year in his debut season for the Gunners. Vermaelen made a good account of himself whilst wearing the red and white of Arsenal and was selected as vice-captain in 2011, following the departure of Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona. The subsequent season, following the departure of Robin van Persie, Vermaelen was then promoted to club captain. Vermaelen is well known for being a ball playing defender who can score goals when given a chance, suiting Arsenal's style of play, however, a drop in form caused mostly by injuries forced the Belgian captain out of the first team picture. The rise of French international, Laurent Koscielney, who formed a rock solid partnership alongside the die-hard Per Mertesacker, has further proved that Vermaelen is surplus to requirements.
Following a news conference on Friday, Arsene Wenger stated Vermaelen is currently injured, but "it is a possibility that he goes." These reports come following a few Manchester United friendlies in which new manager, Louis Van Gaal employed his 3-5-2 formation which worked as he guided Holland to third place in Brazil. The new formation requires three solid centre-backs who, like Vermaelen can play the ball well, it also requires having at least five capable defenders to provide sufficient cover which United no longer have, following the departures of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand. Manchester United have also been heavily linked with a move for Borussia Dortmund's Matts Hummels in recent weeks. Despite this reported interest in the Dortmund defender, United still need to add two centre-backs to compensate their departures. Putting the reports into consideration it would now be expected that, Vermaelen is on his way to Old Trafford, regardless of what happens with Hummels, as Wenger looks to have given in to losing the defender to their Premier League rivals.