2 – Chris Smalling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmp0NHonLuk
If Vermaelen does decide to go to Manchester United, Arsenal may want to ask for a player in return for the Belgian’s services. That player may very well be Chris Smalling.
The 24-year-old was targeted by Arsenal when he was playing for Fulham, and it’s unlikely that Arsene Wenger no longer rates the player.
A strong tackler and aggressive presser – Chris Smalling has all the defensive attributes necessary to cut it at a top club. However, his ability on the ball is far from Arsenal standards at this point in time. The Red Devil’s brick wall still lacks the patience and technical ability to feed intelligent balls to his teammates from his side’s back-line. He frequently plays long balls that are easily collected by the opposition, and would need to improve this side of his game immensely if he was to play in Arsenal’s tiki-taka style.
Although Manchester United would usually be reluctant to strengthen a rival, they would likely agree to a player swap deal if they felt they were getting a worthwhile player in return, so don’t rule out this one just yet.