The Belgian has overcome an injury nightmare to shine at Barça. Before facing Chelsea he discusses why his role is harder than it looks, how Messi makes him laugh and his sadness at Arsenal’s struggles

No one was happier to find out the lineup than Raff and Ace but their dad was not far behind. Thomas Vermaelen was in the tunnel at the Santiago Bernabéu and did not see the video of his sons excitedly running towards the TV screen shouting and pointing until later, by which time hundreds of thousands of others already had, yet the footage became a measure of how much it meant. The clásico is the world’s biggest match, watched by millions round the world, including a couple of small boys, aged two and four, and their little cousin; for the Belgian, it was even more than that. “I felt like I had finally made a start at Barcelona,” he says.

Champions League: fans from around Europe preview the last-16 stage Read more

Three and a half years on it was time. That match in December, won 3-0, took Barcelona 14 points clear of their rivals. It was also confirmation that Vermaelen, described in one report as “immaculate”, could play a bit – maybe confirmation that he could play at all. “I never had the feeling it would never come good but those times when you’re in the rehab it’s awful,” he says. Although he swiftly denies stories that he sought psychological help, those were difficult days, months, even years, and he could have been forgiven for thinking games like this were something other people played.

When Vermaelen joined Barcelona in 2014 the sporting director, Andoni Zubizarreta, said he would be ready “immediately” but from the training ground the word was different. “Everything hurts,” one insider said. The man who withdrew injured 31 minutes into his World Cup debut and played only five league games for Arsenal in 2010-11, who was injured for more than a third of his final four years in north London, played only once in his debut season in La Liga and made six starts the season after. On loan at Roma he began only four league games in 2016-17. But there, at last, he was. And he was superb, too.

I know my qualities so I know I’m able to play for this club but it was always a matter of being fit and feeling good

By the time he reached Madrid two days before Christmas he had started and completed three consecutive matches without conceding a goal. Including international commitments that meant he had played eight games in a row – for the first time in five years. The clásico came as confirmation.

“In my first year I was injured the whole year apart from one game at the end against Deportivo when we were already champions. Then I played about 20 [18 in all competitions across club and country] games in the second, some of those coming on, not starting. And now I had a run of games and I felt like I had finally started. You try to prepare it as a normal game, doing everything you normally do, and those routines give you stability and calm but in the back of your mind you know you’re playing a clásico; it’s not just another game. It’s the game everybody watches and that was probably a test for me.”

If so, he passed. That should probably not have been such a surprise but it felt as if Vermaelen was being discovered. “I know my qualities so I know I’m able to play for this club but it was always a matter of being fit and feeling good and that is what happened in the preview games,” he says. “I gained confidence and the clásico was a bit of a present for me because [Javier] Mascherano came back as well, so I wasn’t sure if I was starting. I was very honoured I could play that game.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Thomas Vermaelen, left, combines with Gerard Piqué to help deny Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema in December. ‘I felt like I had finally made a start at Barcelona,’ he says. Photograph: Sergio Perez/Reuters

More followed. Vermaelen started five of the next six matches, coming on as a substitute in the other. Although he then suffered a minor muscle strain, it is not hugely significant and the expectation is that he will be available for the visit to Stamford Bridge. Depending on Gerard Piqué’s fitness, he could start. If so, there will be no concerns. He has proved himself an accomplished defender and one who fits a model he always thought would suit him. “When a club comes you always look at how they play; for me it wouldn’t be good to join a team that just plays long balls,” he says. “You look at the philosophy and make sure it’s a match.

“People have a bit of a wrong view of defenders in Barcelona because they think: ‘Ah it’s an easy job, they only attack, attack, attack’ but the demands are very high,” he continues. “Playing in the other team’s half doesn’t just happen by itself. It’s because we keep them under constant pressure. If you let them come on to you, we will be under pressure so you push up, push up, push up, every time. That means you have 50 metres at your back and that’s not always easy. Nor is playing out from the back. Sometimes it would just be easier to kick it forward and that’s it but that’s not our way, and it’s a bit more enjoyable to play.

“I’m used to playing out from the back but still there are things that are different here from my previous clubs. It’s a bit …” He pauses. “I don’t know the word … advanced.”

Which is not to say those methods are not applicable to English clubs and when the subject of Vermaelen’s former manager Luis Enrique comes up, on the same morning that reports link the Spaniard to Stamford Bridge, conversation naturally turns to whether he could succeed in the Premier League. “I think so,” Vermaelen says. “I think it’s similar to what you’re seeing with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. You bring a bit of the Spanish influence into English football and it might take time but it can work very well.

“I had a very good relationship with Luis Enrique,” he continues. “The way he talks to players is very good. He knows how to make a player feel right. If you asked me about the best managers I’ve worked with, I would always include him. Now I’m getting the chance to play more but I’m not going to say that because I was playing less with Luis Enrique he was a bad coach.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Vermaelen in action for Arsenal in 2012. ‘The club still has that capacity to be a club fighting for the title again,’ he says. ‘Sacking the manager is not always the solution.’ Photograph: Tom Jenkins/Guardian

And Arsène Wenger? What does Vermaelen make of the stagnation at Arsenal? Why do they seem unable to take that decisive step? “I don’t know,” he says. “It’s sad to see them struggling. Arsenal is such a beautiful club; I think a lot of people in England like Arsenal: they have a beautiful stadium and just thinking about how well they played the game …

“I’m sure if they knew the reason, they’d do something about it. I always say: ‘Be careful what you wish for.’ I don’t know what’s going on now but the club still has that capacity to be a club fighting for the title again. Sacking the manager is not always the solution. What Mr Wenger has done for the club is amazing. I think he is still the man to go forward. He has the experience and he is a man of the club.”

Even though Chelsea are struggling a bit, Hazard is in good form and I know his quality: he’s world-class. Eden can be up there with the best but to compare [anyone] to Messi is difficult

While Arsenal are in the Europa League, Vermaelen has the Champions League last 16 to look forward to. Chelsea are a team he knows well. Over the next few days, he says, the analysis will deepen. He is aware of who he is likely to be up against. There is Álvaro Morata and, although Vermaelen watched the forward miss chances against Arsenal, he says he is impressed by him and believes the Spaniard has the physique to play the role left by Diego Costa.

Then, of course, there is his international team-mate Eden Hazard. They have spoken but when the idea of Hazard departing – for Real Madrid, say – is raised, Vermaelen is quick. “No, I don’t talk about that,” he says with a smile.

“Of course, it is difficult to compare anyone to Messi, who has done it over so many years but there are similarities: they’re both quite small with that low centre of gravity so they can turn and twist very quickly,” he says. “They have that element of surprise; you don’t know which way they are going to go. Even though Chelsea are struggling a bit, I saw Hazard scoring against Watford so he’s in good form and I know his quality: he’s world-class. Eden can be right up there with the best but to compare [anyone] to Messi is so difficult.

“It’s unbelievable. If you gamble that Messi’s going to go one way, then he’ll go the other. You would think that he does it in games but he does it day-in day-out in training, that’s what amazes me. When he comes at you on the diagonal at the speed he moves, it’s very difficult to defend. You might know he’s probably going to shoot off his left foot but he’s always quicker. And he can play in that No 10 position too, with defenders at his back, and play assists.

Understated Eibar continue to show size doesn't always matter | Sid Lowe Read more

“It’s pure talent. It all comes naturally to him. Probably for him it doesn’t feel special but for us it looks very special. He just does it and gets on with his job. He doesn’t get too emotionally involved with players tackling him. There are moments you see him do something and you just laugh. Even on the bench during a game you laugh when you see what he’s doing; the same as you are at home on your sofa.”

Back where Raff and Ace sometimes watch their dad play. Vermaelen does not know whether he will start at Stamford Bridge and admits that by kick-off they may not be up. “The problem is we play so late and they’re very young,” he says. “They know I play football and they’re excited to see me on TV but they’re too young. They’re not that into football yet. They see me and sometimes they even confuse me with another player.”

Oh well, so long as it is Messi.

Vermaelen laughs. “Yeah,” he says, “that’s fine.”