Vermaelen made his Eredivisie debut on 15 February 2004, in a year and a half after he had signed a five-year contract with Ajax. That was a match against Volendam and his club won 2-0.
In January 2005 Thomas was sent on loan to RKC Waalwijk, as he could not get to the first team due to high competition in Ajax. He made his first appearance for the temporary team on 23 January 2005 in the match against RBC Roosendaal and Waalwijk ran out victorious (0-1).
Vermaelen scored his first goal for the temporary club in March 2005. That goal helped the team to avoid a loss and the match with Utrecht ended in a 2-2 draw. Thomas made 13 appearances for Waalwijk and found the net two times.
After returning to Ajax, Vermaelen became the pivot of defense almost at once. In 2005/2006 he played 24 games for the club and netted three goals. The footballer lifted the KNVB Cup and the Johan Cruijff Shield. In August 2006 Thomas won his second Shield in a 3-1 victory against PSV. In 2006/2007 he made 23 appearances for Ajax, which took second place in Eredivisie. The same year Vermaelen became the winner of the KNVB Cup and picked up the third Johan Cruijff Shield a year later. Thomas took part in 19 matches and kicked one goal in 2007/2008 season, when his club clinched silver medals of the league, losing to PSV.
In June 2009 Arsenal took an interest in the Dutch back because the London side club needed to reinforce its defense line. ‘The Gunners’ made an official offer to Ajax and paid about €12 million for 23-year-old Vermaelen. The footballer signed a contract with the new club without any delay.
Thomas showed his skill in the very first match for Arsenal. That was the English Premier League game against Everton and the back contributed a goal on the 37th minute after Robin van Persie’s pass. Later the fans chose Vermaelen as the Arsenal Player of the Month.
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