Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Thomas Vermaelen will be Arsenal’s new captain.

Previously vice-captain, the Belgian international takes over the armband from Robin van Persie following the Dutchman’s treacherous decision to quit the club. Mikel Arteta will be his deputy.

“The new captain is Vermaelen and [the vice-captain is] Arteta. We have many potential captains in this team,” confirmed Wenger in his pre-Sunderland press conference.

It’s not the first time in Vermaelen’s career that he has been trusted with the captaincy at one of Europe’s biggest clubs. Before signing for Arsenal he also held the position at Ajax, proof, according to the legendary Bob Wilson, that the centre-back is the right man for the job.

“Any Belgian who captains a Dutch side like Ajax is a special player,” the Double-winner told BBC Radio 4 this morning. Who are we to argue?

Arseblog News looks forward to reading Thomas’ words of wisdom in the official matchday programme, hopes he’s already got the whole ‘jumping ship while captain’ thing out of his system and trusts he follows in the footsteps of Tony Adams and Frank McLintock rather than the numpties who’ve held the position more recently.