2014 Arsenal Player Review: Thomas Vermaelen

Thomas Vermaelen is the captain of Arsenal.  The captain of a team should be an ever-present leader, inspiring his team to great things on the pitch, right?  After a 2012-13 season that saw Verm sink to new depths of wow-he-isn't-very-goodness, I think we all hoped 2013-14 would be different.

It wasn't.

He was injured quite a bit, and when he wasn't injured, he wasn't good enough - Verm only made 14 appearances this season, seven as a starter and a further seven as a substitute.  He didn't do much of note in those 14 appearances, either - certainly not enough to warrant the captaincy, and overall, there's just not much to review here because there wasn't much to see, which to me is the most damning indictment of them all.

The Mertescielny combo and its consistently good play has made Vermaelen surplus to requirements; if he were playing better I'd love for him to stick around, but as it is, he's not, so it's probably better for all sides that he go, as he's not doing himself any favors sitting on the bench and playing badly every one in a while.

Verm is probably gone this summer, and I hope he can regain his form somewhere; it's too bad he lost it in London, because he was a good player once upon a time.  Good luck, Verm.

GRADE: D-