Manuel Almunia has suggested that defender Kolo Touré pushed for his £14m transfer to Manchester City because he was "bored" with life at Arsenal and "tired of being with the same people every day".

"He needed a change," said Almunia, the goalkeeper, "and you could see it in his face. Kolo was not really happy in his last period at Arsenal."

Touré submitted a transfer request in January, only to withdraw it and, upon joining City, he said that the move had been in the making for six months. He admitted that he did not get along with William Gallas, his central defensive partner at the Emirates, and Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, said that there was nothing he could have done to keep Touré because the 28-year-old centre-half had wanted the move.

Almunia will now watch the club's £10m summer signing Thomas Vermaelen attempt to form a partnership with Gallas, although Wenger admitted that if Philippe Senderos completes his proposed switch to Everton, he could make a move for Fulham's centre-half Brede Hangeland. "Of course, I have heard about Arsenal's interest," said Hangeland, who has yet to sign the new contract he has been offered at Craven Cottage, "but I am very happy at Fulham."

"I was surprised by Kolo leaving," Almunia continued. "He was a big part of Arsenal, one of the greatest players that we've had over the last few years. When I see him in the papers wearing a City shirt, it's very strange for me. When you are with players for many years, you get to know them very well, you know how they play and communicate with them really well.

"But now we have to work with different people. We have a new central defender in Thomas Vermaelen and we have to cope with this. In football, people come and go. It's part of life.

"Kolo lived through great times at Arsenal. He won the league as part of a great team, the Invincibles. But when you are at any place for a long time, you sometimes need a change and to change your way of life, the city where you live, the team-mates you see every day. Maybe he was a bit bored, a bit tired of being with the same people every day, in the same atmosphere."

Almunia insisted, however, that the same wanderlust had not gripped the captain Cesc Fábregas, who is coveted by a host of leading European clubs. "With Cesc, the same could happen but he still has a lot more to offer Arsenal [whereas] Kolo gave everything to Arsenal and won titles," said Almunia. "We'll see the best of Cesc this season and he will help us to win something. Then he will be completely happy to be here and he will do what he wants to do."

Vermaelen played in Arsenal's first four pre-season friendlies and he looked composed, albeit against limited opposition. Although he stands at less than six feet tall and, as such, will not add much needed height to the team, Almunia believes that he will be powerful in the air.

"He might not be really tall, but he has a very good jumping capacity and he's very good with his head," said Almunia, at an event to mark Arsenal's selection of the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital and, specifically, their lung function unit, as the club's charity of the season. "He looks a very good player and now, he has to show how good he is. He's still a bit shy in the dressing room but that's normal when you come to a new place.

"At the beginning of last season, we had tall people and we still had some problems. It's not about height, it's about attitude. You have to face the ball properly and be focused on the game every single minute."