Thomas Vermaelen set to become new Arsenal captain.

Thomas Vermaelen is set to receive the Arsenal captain’s armband as current skipper Robin Van Persie closes in on a move to Manchester United. BBC reporter David Ornstein, who broke the news about Man United and Arsenal agreeing a fee last night, has tweeted today that Vermaelen is set to become the new captain at the Emirates.

The Belgian international was captain at Ajax before joining Arsenal in the summer of 2009. He was vice-captain last season and will make the step up to captaincy once Van Persie completes his move. He has captained Arsenal whenever captains and / or vice-captain’s have been unavailable in the past, so he knows what it’s like to wear the armband both at Arsenal and Ajax.

Vermaelen signed a contract extension last October that added 4 years to his deal at the club. He has come out and publicly stated his desire to remain at the club long-term and help bring trophies back to the club. There currently appears to be a curse on Arsenal captains that they don’t stay very long after receiving the armband. All we can do is hope that Vermaelen stays long term. Hopefully a lot longer than Van Persie has since getting the armband!. He is 26, so has the potential to be there a long time. Whether he will do or not remains to be seen.