Thomas Vermaelen may be club captain, but that hasn’t stopped him being dropped by Arsene Wenger in the last couple of games following a recent run of poor form.
While some players obviously thrive on the responsibility of being the main man, possessing the armband can’t be easy if you know you’re not delivering the goods yourself.
Talking to Arsenal Magazine about the honour of following in the footsteps of Tony Adams, Pat Rice and Frank McLintock (we won’t mention the recent ones) Vermaelen stressed that despite his dip in form he always tries to lead by example the moment he crosses the white line.
“A captain should always give 100 per cent for his club on the pitch, that’s the first thing,” said the defender.
“He needs to give a good example and be disciplined. But everyone does the role differently – some people talk a lot in the dressing room, some don’t, some talk to individual players and perhaps try to help the youngsters.
“I just try to do as well as I can, setting a good example on the pitch and off it.”
Hailing the influence of experienced duo Per Mertesacker and Mikel Arteta, Vermaelen also made clear that the strength of the Arsenal collective was something he was lucky to call upon.
“I try to be disciplined, to live by the rules, and to make sure the whole team is doing the same.
“There are a few of us who work together on that, though – Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker as well, they’re really good and help me a lot.
“We’re like a small team, making sure everyone is doing the right things and trying to assist them when they need it.”
There weren’t many who thought Wenger would have the balls to drop Vermaelen having made him captain; that he has will be a bitter pill for the defender, but the reason he’s been made captain is the boss believes he’s mature enough to deal with both the highs and lows with life at the top of the game.
The Belgian hasn’t turned into a bad player overnight and Arseblog News has no doubts he’ll soon start delivering the goods that earned him so much praise last term.
We have more leaders in this team. Fact.
When reading “(we won’t mention the recent ones)”, I can’t help laughing..Forgive me.
He was a rock at our defence last year. Well people makes mistakes. If per, kos and verm are all on form, our defence will be really mean.
What, the defence that let in more goals than any other Arsenal team has for 30 years?
Well there was the defense with myriad injuries starting Djorou at RB and there was the defense that was rock solid in the run after 5-2 Spurs when Gibbs-Vermaelen-Kos-Sagna all played consecutive games.
No, he wasn’t. Kos was.
BFG.
Sorry, just had to say it loud.
With you on this………Make Per the captain………………They just no how to win!
Lol you mad bro?. I agree he’s capable but can he speak english fluently?
Communication to other squad members is essentiial and that’s where arteta comes in!
We just need a voice out there and to others respond to that. I am saying this only because seeing Sczcesny return in goal i find the defenders are that much up on their feet all the time. Yes there is a good superior goal keeper back now there who will get you out of troubles when someone makes a mistake but i was very much pissed why Vito was not given that kind of protection ,i have seen him screaming out there close them up but they didnt, just want to know why did that happen.
I love them all
“There are a few of us who work together on that, though – Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker as well, they’re really good and help me a lot…. watch this line and it says alot without saying much. what i like to highlight is the word “FEW”. We need more players to shoulder their responsibilty and the team’s and turn those ‘few’ into ‘many’. There lies the problem in arsenal and NO! wenger dont need to motivate these over inflated egos of players every freaking second.And please giroud need to be more vocal, and shout people heads off to give him… Read more »
“(we won’t mention the recent ones)” That’s a bit harsh, Almunia didn’t put a foot wrong as captain….
nor did the Squid…
Almunia didn’t put a foot wrong as captain, or a foot right as a keeper for two long – long years
Two? Lucky fucker being in a coma …
I’ve been watching Arsenal for 40 years, and can’t remember a club captain being DROPPED for playing poorly. Captaincy taken away, yes…..but not benched.
Vermaelen! He speaks, he finally speaks.
Please don’t slip today when mirallas attacks you and when we’re drawing at 0-0, please feel free to step up and head in that goal.
It’s got to be Captain Jack for the long haul.
Mr Art should wear the armband. He has so much more energy to be concerned about others on the pitch. Perhaps Tomas is struggling to cope with both jobs?
I think Sir Chesney should be in that list along with Per and Mikky.Always commands his box whenever he plays.
Wouldn’t like to see Sz as captain though…
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For fuck sake Wenger. Ramsey is fucking killing us out there, he is responsible for that goal, responsible for Gibbs yellow card. Yes he gave the assist but Fuck me that does not mean he’s allowed to give away the ball every touch after the 2nd minute. There’s 3 natural wingers on the bench for Fuck sake
He’s a liability on the pitch. Once every few years, you get a young player that bursts into the big teams and performs. + Ramsey had a huge set back with his broken leg. The fact is, he’s not one of those prodigious young players, I think he will get into his peak when he is 29 and retire when he’s 38. He needs to be a fringe player, introduced into the last few matches playing in a confident team that can accommodate him. We can’t accommodate his training at the moment while we are suffering, searching for cohesion. We… Read more »
This team is a fucking joke right now. Cant even put 3 passes together. Go ahead and thumbs down me which means your obviously happy with a mediocre team. It’s 60 minutes and we’ve had one shot on.goal. its almost seventy minutes down and no signs of a sub. What the Fuck is going on here????
I thought he’s having a decent season.
Arsenal normally dominate possession from start to finish. The last line of possession dominators in the team is Jack Wilshere. So until he becomes a large influence – we are going to be getting used to more 50 – 50 matches.
The point of that is that our defense is tested more and more.
Yes, he’s made a few mistakes this season, but he’s kept his head down. I’m glad he’s with us and not our rivals. That’s for sure!