After a string of poor performances from Thomas Vermaelen, he has recently received a fair amount of criticism. Many people, myself included, have questioned his place in the starting 11, and his ability to captain the side. Although I do not think Vermaelen is a bad player, if he was not club captain would he, in his current form, continue to start every game ahead of Laurent Koscielny? I doubt it.
To me, the captain is the most important player on the team, the leader, the one who provides direction for the rest of the team, takes responsibility and makes decisions. Of course it is the manager and the coach who decide tactics, formations and style of play, however as soon as the players enter the pitch it is the man wearing the armband’s responsibility to lead the team. To have the ability to do this the captain must possess characteristics of a good leader.
When looking at recent captains of successful Arsenal sides, such as Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira, these leadership qualities can easily be identified. Confidence, motivation and the ability to motivate other players, communication, and leading by example. From the surface it doesn't appear that Vermaelen shares these qualities.
It is clear from Vermaelen’s performances that he’s lacking in confidence. Instead of surging runs sometimes resulting in goals, he’s now more often than not performing a defensive blunder that costs the team, for example his poor clearance at Old Trafford, which gifted van Persie a goal within 10 minutes of kick off. The problem is Vermaelen’s errors, although he is not solely at fault, are often costing the team not just goals, but points, notably Spurs away most recently.
It’s near enough impossible for Vermaelen to lead by example if his performances are setting the wrong example. The lack of confidence and consequent poor performances result in a vicious circle, the more Vermaelen plays badly, the more it will damage his confidence. It is difficult to understand how a player with low confidence is supposed to lead a team, especially with the amount of pressure currently being placed on the team by fans, media and I’d imagine people inside the club itself.
Arsenal are currently in a tough situation, and once again involved in a battle for a place in the top four of the Premier League. However, although people may not agree, last season Arsenal had, in my opinion, a pretty good captain. A player who was able to inspire the rest of the team, who won Arsenal a lot of games, and in reality was the reason Arsenal managed to finish third in the league. Of course it is different because there isn’t a forward of his calibre at the club who we can rely on to get us out of sticky situations, but apart from the 21-year-old Jack Wilshere, I can’t see another player who can inspire the team in the same way.
If you take Steven Gerrard out of Liverpool, they look a much weaker side. If you take Vincent Kompany out of Manchester City, they look a much weaker side. If you take Nemanja Vidic out of Manchester United, they look a much weaker side. If you take Thomas Vermaelen out of Arsenal, do they look a much weaker side?
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