'I wasn't really unhappy at Arsenal and felt very much at home in London - I didn't really need to leave' Gunners star implies he shouldn't have left the Emirates Stadium

Arsenal developed a taste for FA Cup success in the latter stages of Arsen Wenger’s legendary reign but the beginning of the run was the end for one fan favourite.

The Gunners won the famous old trophy three times in four years between 2013-14 and 2016-17 but Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen bowed out after the 2014 final to join Catalan giants Barcelona.

Vermaelen was a popular figure at the Emirates Stadium but struggled for fitness for the remainder of his career. In an interview with Ajax Showtime, Vermaelen hinted that leaving London might not have been the right move for him.

Thomas Vermaelen 'didn't really need to leave' Arsenal in 2014

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“Looking back, I wasn't really unhappy at Arsenal and felt very much at home in London. In that sense, I didn't really need to leave,” said the former Gunners captain.

“I played less in the last year. Wenger opted for [Laurent] Koscielny and [Per] Mertesacker at the time. They made a good duo and conceded few goals.

“I chose to leave, and a deal was made with Barcelona. If I had stayed, it could have worked out well.

“I don't regret it, not at all. Those are also choices you make at the time.”

Vermaelen suffered a hamstring injury playing for Belgium in a group stage match against Russia at the World Cup in 2014 and his time at Barcelona was beset by fitness problems.

The 40-year-old had a spell on loan at Roma before ending his career in J1 League with Vissel Kobe. He has been engaged in coaching but football isn’t his biggest focus in retirement.

“I'm trying to focus on my family now,” said Vermaelen, who still lives in the south of England.

“My whole life has always revolved around football. I'm taking some time to step back from it right now.

“We can do things now that we often couldn't do when I was a professional footballer. I have a lot of hobbies.

“For example, we couldn't ski before. I did that before I played football, and I do it often now. I also play paddle tennis and golf, that sort of thing.”

Vermaelen can look back on a career full of success even if his time on the field was more limited than he’d have liked. He retired as a cup winner in four different countries and was part of a Barcelona squad that had a stranglehold on the Spanish title.

He went to four major international tournaments with Belgium, for whom he was capped 85 times in total.