The ability of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker to tie down their places in the Arsenal starting line-up gives team captain Thomas Vermaelen no option but to leave the Emirates this summer or face being a fringe player in the Arsenal squad with Goal.com suggesting the Belgium international will be the next to follow Sagna out the door once the World Cup is over.
With only one-year still remaining on his current contract Arsenal will not try to block a move should they receive offers in the region of £8 million for the 28-year-old defender.
Belgium have a good team at this summer’s World Cup, which will be a showcase not only for Vermaelen but also Manchester Unites Marouane Fellaini who is thought to be on his way out as soon as new manager Louis van Gaal takes over at Old Trafford.
Vermaelen’s misfortunes at Arsenal stem back to an error strewn match against north London rivals Tottenham in which the Gunners lost 2-1 back in March of 2013, after which Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger went with a defensive partnership of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker that he has stuck with ever since.
Both the German and French defender have signed new contracts that will keep them at the Emirates until 2017 and 2018 respectively, yet no new offer has been given to the Belgium which all points to an early exit.
