Robin van Persie has given his backing to Arsenal’s pursuit of Thomas Vermaelen, with The Gunners understood to be closing in on the signing of the Ajax defender.
Reports have suggested that Arsenal have agreed a fee of £11 million with Ajax and that only personal terms stand in the way of Vermaelen joining Arsene Wenger’s ranks.
The Gunners boss has been searching for a defender for some time and former Feyenoord forward Van Persie feels that in the Belgium international, Wenger has found a good recruit who will inject some youth into the club’s defence.
"It's a good thing," Van Persie told De Telegraaf. "There's nothing wrong with the qualities of Vermaelen. He can play as left-back and central defender and we need this type of player.
"The guys that we now have on those positions are already somewhat older.
"Our head scout [Steve Rowley] doesn't do such a thing out of the blue. He needs to see a player 30 to 40 times before a decision is made."