Parlour: Arsenal won't stop Vermaelen joining Man United

Ray Parlour believes Arsenal won't block club captain Thomas Vermaelen's prospective move to Manchester United.

The Belgian defender has agreed to join the Red Devils this summer, according to reports, with Louis van Gaal’s side now just needing to agree a transfer fee with the north London club.

Vermaelen would become the latest in a long line of players to join one of the Gunners’ rivals, after seeing Bacary Sagna, Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy all leave the Emirates in recent seasons.

But Parlour claims it will be very difficult to stop United from landing their man.

"Thomas Vermaelen wants to play football,” he told the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast show. “Last year he couldn’t get in the Arsenal side because Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny were superb at the back. Kieran Gibbs has improved so much he couldn’t even play him at left-back.

"When you get to a situation where a squad member wants to move, sometimes the player has more sway than the club itself.

"If he wants to play football, and an offer comes in from a club like Manchester United, then it’s hard for the club to say, 'no, you can’t go there, we want to sell you to a club in Italy or Spain’.

"He was doing the captain’s notes last year in the Arsenal programme but not getting in the team. I can’t see that changing anytime soon. He wants to play first team football.”