Jan Vertonghen, who recently announced his retirement from football, will go down as a cult hero at Tottenham Hotspur, but the story of why he chose them over Arsenal will make him even more popular.
Vertonghen will be hanging up his boots at the end of the season, drawing the curtain on a 19-year-long career as a senior footballer.
The Belgian international will end his career in the top division in his home country with Anderlecht, but his time in North London is where he will be most fondly remembered.
His former Tottenham and Belgian national teammate Toby Alderweireld is also retiring at the end of the season, which will leave Spurs fans reminiscing on one of the best defensive duos their club has ever seen.
Jan Vertonghen on why he rejected Arsenal for Tottenham
Speaking back in December 2012, just after his move from Ajax to Tottenham Hotspur, Jan Vertonghen revealed how he rejected a move to Arsenal.
The Belgian international explained how the Gunners wanted him to play as a holding midfielder, with Arsene Wenger viewing him as the next Emmanuel Petit.
However, Vertonghen wanted to play as a central defender and therefore, the project which Tottenham sold him proved to be more appealing.
Vertonghen told NU: “Arsenal was also concrete, but they wanted to make me a midfield controller, an Emmanuel Petit type. I’m not afraid of competition, but the overall picture of Spurs appealed to me more.”
How good was Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld’s record together?
Vertonghen and Alderweireld was a defensive partnership which played such a key role in helping Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham teams to be so good.
Unbelievably, Tottenham failed to win any silverware with those teams as they finished runners-up in the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup.
| Matches | PPG | W | L | D | Goals conceded |
| 135 | 1.89 | 75 | 30 | 30 | 138 |
The Belgian defensive duo played together at Tottenham on 135 occasions, winning 75 matches and conceding 138 goals.
Even now with Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven in defence, it’s tricky to see the North London club having such a strong partnership for a very long time.
