Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen has dismissed interest from Barcelona.

He is contracted to Arsenal until 2015 and has a good understanding with Laurent Koscielny, who has recently signed a deal until 2017.

"I signed my new contract last year and I'm proud to play for this club," Vermaelen told the Daily Mail. "When I was young, I watched Arsenal a lot and you could see the way they played was really attractive.

"I speak to players when I join the national team and everybody likes Arsenal because it's a fantastic club. That's why I'm really happy to be here.

"I love the way we play and it means I can play as well. It's not only about defending and heading and tackling. I enjoy defending but I like to play as well with the ball.

"It's easy to give a long ball from the back but it doesn't give you any choice. It's better to build up and show a bit of your technique as well. I like the vision of Arsenal.

"Our aims this season should be the same as ever. I know people are criticising Arsenal but our main target is to keep everybody fit and if we do that I'm really confident our team is good enough to compete for everything."