Thomas Vermaelen
He might currently be Gunners captain but Vermaelen goes into the fresh season with the necessity to resurrect his Arsenal career. The Belgian international lost his starting berth to Laurent Koscielny who formed a strong central defensive partnership with German Per Mertesacker and that has opened up the possibility that the 27-year-old could leave the Emirates Stadium this summer.
Vermaelen insists that he wants to fight for his place in the side but he fears his World Cup dream could be hampered if he remains on the bench at Arsenal. Arsene Wenger has reportedly targeted another centre-half with Swansea’s Ashley Williams high on the agenda and that could leave Vermaelen as fourth-choice centre-back at the Emirates. The defender has already suffered the blow of missing the start of the season with chronic back problems which could easily prevent him reinvigorating his Gunners career.
While it looks unlikely that the Belgian will be sold this summer he certainly needs an impressive season to provide a safeguard to his long term future in North London.