Thing is, Vermaelen wont break up the Mertecielny partnership unless one of them gets injured, and he will lose his place as soon as the injured one is back. And he knows it. He probably made up his mind about leaving over 9 months ago.

Wenger wont want him to leave but he wont stand in his way and force him to stay either. Vermaelen could easily have kicked up a fuss about not getting playing time last season, especially since it was world cup year. But he didn't, and he admirably kept his mouth shut and dodged awkward questions in interviews so he wouldn't disrupt our season. He deserves a move, but NOT to Man United.