Vermaelen swaps Ajax for Arsenal

Arsenal FC have signed Belgium central defender Thomas Vermaelen from AFC Ajax in a deal reportedly worth up to €11.8m, with the 23-year-old insisting his new team "will be challenging for honours".

Trophy haul
Vermaelen, capped 21 times by his country and captain of the Dutch club last season, joins the Premier League outfit on a long-term contract. An Ajax debutant aged 18, he went on to score eight goals in 98 league games. His spell at the Amsterdam ArenA also produced one Eredivisie title, in 2003/04, two Dutch Cups and two Dutch Super Cups.

'Winner's attitude'
"Thomas is a great signing for Arsenal and we are delighted he is joining us," Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger said. "Thomas is a solid performer with good experience of Champions League and UEFA Cup football and is also a regular with the Belgium national team. Thomas is primarily a left-footed centre-back, but he's multi-functional and can also play at left-back. He is strong technically with a positive winner's attitude and I have no doubt his arrival will strengthen our team. He will be a huge asset."

Ajax bond
Vermaelen added: "I'm sad to be leaving Ajax and I would like to thank everyone for their help and friendship towards me over the last eight years. I'm just so happy to be joining Arsenal. This is a great club with a world-class manager, high-quality players and a fantastic stadium. Everything is set up for Arsenal to be very successful for years to come and I joined this club because I know Arsenal will be challenging for trophies. I'm also looking forward to playing in the English Premier League, which for me is the best in the world." Arsenal will enter the UEFA Champions League in the play-off round.