The Belgian defender, Thomas Vermaelen joined Arsenal from Ajax in the summer of 2009 and was an instant hit among the Gunners faithful. He gained a reputation of being one of the best and most solid defenders in the league during his early Arsenal years.

However, such has not been the case in recent times, as the 27-year old has been caught off guard on more than one occasion, which have resulted in Arsenal giving away silly goals. One of them was against Manchester United last season, as his poor clearance allowed former team-mate Robin van Persie, who he took over the captain’s armband from, to score against his old club in Arsenal’s 2-1 loss at Old Trafford.

These errors have cost Vermaelen his place in the first team, as he is now second choice as manager Arsene Wenger prefers to pair up the quick and agile Laurent Koscielny with the solid and intelligent Per Mertesacker in the heart of defense. Vermaelen has been forced to watch from the bench, and only gets his chance when either Koscielny or Mertesacker are injured or rested, or if it is a cup competition.

This is certainly not what Vermaelen was expecting out of this season, as he wishes to travel to Brazil with his national team Belgium for the World Cup next summer. Warming the bench will certainly not help his cause one bit. Therefore, Metro report that Vermaelen could possibly be on the move in search of regular first-team football, which will let him stake his claim in the Belgian national squad.

Vermaelen had even spoke about his current situation previously where he had said, “I’ll have to think about that when it’s necessary. January is still a few months ahead. Of course, never playing will not be the ideal situation for me to go to the World Cup, that’s for sure.”

With him acknowledging that the current situation is not ideal, Inter Milan are said to be interested in acquiring his services. They are thought to be preparing an £8 million bid for him in January, and are even willing to go up to £10 million to seal this deal quickly.

Do you see yet another Arsenal captain ready to quit the club?