Tottenham Hotspur summer signing and centre-back http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429 in the summer, but turned them down because they wanted him to play as a defensive midfielder.
The Belgian defender had been on the radar of many clubs while he was still with current Dutch champions Ajax. Vertonghen had emerged as one of the best centre-halves in Europe, and had helped Ajax to two successive Eredivisie titles.
The player had been long linked with a move to the Emirates, with reports in the summer claiming that Arsenal were favourites to land his services. However, Tottenham entered the fray later, and Vertonghen ended all links with Arsenal by publicly stating
his desire to move to White Hart Lane, quoting first team opportunities as the main reason behind his decision.
Spurs won the race to sign the player late in the summer after much delays and problems with his transfer fee and clause. The player has now revealed that he almost signed for Arsenal, insisting that their offer was concrete.
Vertonghen said that the Gunners wanted to sign him as a holding midfield player, probably to replace http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604. The player revealed that he then opted for Tottenham Hotspur as it appealed to him more and they promised him
playing time in his preferred centre back position.
Speaking to reporters, he said:
“Arsenal’s interest was concrete, but they wanted me to be a controller in the midfield, an Emmanuel Petit-type. I’m not afraid of competitions, but the overall picture of Spurs appealed to me more.”
The centre-half has however not managed to play in his preferred position so far at White Hart Lane, with an injury to regular left-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto prompting the club to deploy Vertonghen there instead. The player is however expected to return to
a central role once the Cameroonian returns this weekend from injury.
Vertonghen added:
“Ultimately, I just came to play at centre back. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nani-c27299 and Raheem
Sterling.”
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