{"id":38147,"date":"2014-08-09T21:18:12","date_gmt":"2014-08-09T21:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=38147"},"modified":"2014-08-09T21:18:12","modified_gmt":"2014-08-09T21:18:12","slug":"vermaelen-barcelona-to-sign-arsenal-defender-on-sunday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/08\/vermaelen-barcelona-to-sign-arsenal-defender-on-sunday\/","title":{"rendered":"Vermaelen: Barcelona to sign Arsenal defender on Sunday"},"content":{"rendered":"
Barcelona say they will complete the \u00a315m signing of Arsenal’s Belgium international defender Thomas Vermaelen on a five-year contract on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The La Liga club\u00a0released a statement\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0on Saturday saying they had reached an agreement to sign Vermaelen, and the 28-year-old had passed a medical.<\/p>\n Vermaelen\u00a0joined Arsenal from Ajax for \u00a310m in 2009<\/a>\u00a0and made 150 appearances.<\/p>\n “Thomas Vermaelen is a natural leader who has captained both Ajax and Arsenal,” said Barcelona’s statement.<\/p>\n “He plays at centre-back, and as well as having an impressive physique he is excellent with the ball at his feet and reads the game well.”<\/p>\n Vermaelen will sign his contract on Sunday before being officially presented as the Catalan club’s player at a news conference.<\/p>\n