Thomas Vermaelen Picks Five-A-Side Team From Ex-Arsenal Players, Two Invincibles Included

By The Editor
on 9th January 2024

Thomas Vermaelen picks his ultimate five-a-side team…

Former Arsenal skipper Thomas Vermaelen was present at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday to watch our FA Cup clash against Liverpool and the former defender was asked to take a trip down memory lane by the Arsenal Media team.

Vermaelen joined the club’s in-house channel in their gantry ahead of the game as he reminisced on his five-year stint in north London which ended a decade ago.

The former Belgium international revealed that last weekend’s game was his first time back at the club since his exit in 2014, a move which saw Vermaelen head to Barcelona.

Vermaelen was the captain before Mikel Arteta took over the armband and few could’ve predicted that he’d return to see his former teammate in the dugout.

“To be honest this is the first time back since I left,” Vermaelen admitted.

“It’s 10 years ago and, yeah, it’s a long time and that’s why today is a special moment.

“It brings back memories, I was walking through the tunnel earlier and it does bring back memories of when you used to be a player. It’s just an amazing stadium to come back to.”

Before the former Ajax man was ushered off the set, he was tasked to quickly name an ultimate five-a-side team from his time at Arsenal.

Vermaelen was present through a huge transition period as several players sought pastures new while Arsene Wenger attempted to rebuild the squad with a limited budget.

The 38-year-old’s time at Arsenal also saw a few icons make returns in short-term loans and he’s made the point to include them in his team.

Check out his five-a-side team below: *Spoiler alert* – he somehow forgot to include Santi Cazorla.