Rumour: Zenit St. Petersbrug eyeing Arsenal's Thomas Vermaelen

Russian giants Zenit St. Petersbrug are to set to launch a bid to lure unsettled Arsenal skipper Thomas Vermaelen away from the Emirates stadium, according to the Metro.

While the majority of Europe’s top leagues winter transfer windows are now shut, Russia’s unconventional window does not close until mid February, giving the Russian sides a further two weeks to bolster their squads.

Zenit are keen to bring in a central defender and have earmarked Vermaelen as their first choice target. The 28-year-old has fallen out of favour in North London with Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker cementing a place in Arsene Wenger’s starting XI.

Vermaelen was once amongst the first names on the team sheet but a dramatic dip in form has seen him restricted to just seven appearances this season. The Belgian international has declared he is willing to look elsewhere for regular game time as he looks cling onto his place in his country’s international set-up ahead of this summer’s World Cup in Brazil.

Zenit are reportedly set to opening the bidding with an offer of £15 million but are willing to go as high as £18 million to secure Vermaelen’s signature.

However, Wenger turned down an approach from Napoli for his captain in Januaury and will be unwilling to let Vermaelen leave if he is unable to bring in a new recruit to provide back up to his defensive unit as they battle to end an eight year trophy drought on three fronts.

Thomas Vermaelen has won 81% of his tackles for Arsenal during the current campaign.