Arsenal Dodged Jamie Vardy Shaped Bullet In Summer

Jamie Vardy rejected Arsenal’s advances in the summer. Now it looks as though Arsene Wenger and the Gunners dodged a bullet by failing to sign him.

In the summer transfer window, Arsenal and Arsene Wenger seemingly had a greater willingness and ability to invest in prospective talent. They spent the best part of £100 million, breaking the £30 million twice and acquiring four players who have started games this season.

However, it was not just the successful bids and adavnces that suggested a change in the transfer intentions of the club and its notoriously hesitant and frugal manager. There were numerous attempts to sign players for significant fees that were, for a variety of reasons, quite literally a piece of unfinished business.

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One such example is Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy. The Foxes fox in the box was sensational last season, embodying the meteoric and miraculous rise of the club with his own incredible feats of unlikely success. He was a goalscoring machine, setting a Premier League record for consecutive games scored in, and fired his team to one of the greatest titles in sporting history.

Since then, though, Vardy has not been able to replicate such goalscoring feats. His form has, much like his team, detoriated with devastating effects. Looking back at Arsenal’s failed intentions – they failed because Vardy himself rejected the move, later revealing that this was because of reservations he had regarding whether he would suit Wenger’s possession based style – it has perhaps been a blessing for them that Vardy rejected the move. When reminded about the summer escapades, Jamie Carragher, working on Sky Sports, stated: “Well it’s a good job they [Arsenal] didn’t [sign him].”

I was one who was disappointed with Vardy turning down a move to the Emirates. I felt that a true goalscorer such as Vardy, spearheading a side with the creativity and the poise of Arsenal would be a match made in heaven. His electric pace, his willingness to run in behind, rather than always look for the ball to feet, and his ruthless finishing in front of goal made him a nightmare striker to defend against.

Nevertheless, despite his natural abilities suggesting that he would proceed to develop into a top European player, his poor attitude, his lack of consistency and particular shortcomings in his game – his touch, his strength and his interplay are not the most polished aspects – are coming back to halt his progress.

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It seems. then. that had Arsenal inherited the Vardy of this season, rather than the electric striker of last year, they would have paid £20 million for a player worth less than half of that. A bullet dodgd for Wenger and his usually transfer savvy team.

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