Arsenal don’t want to sell Thomas Vermaelen to their rivals
Arsene Wenger gave the 13-time Premier League champions hopes of signing his captain Vermaelen on Thursday and then immediately snatched them away.
As the Telegraph reports the 64-year-old admitted that the Belgium international could be sold this summer, but would prefer the defender to go abroad.
This seems to put FC Barcelona in pole position to sign Vermaelen, with the Catalans viewing the 28-year-old as the ideal replacement for recently retired skipper Carles Puyol.