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What Arsene Wenger said about Jamie Vardy in 2016 after Leicester City legend snubbed Arsenal as exit now announced
Jamie Vardy will leave Leicester City at the end of the season.
The 2016 Arsenal target has decided to call a halt to his time at the King Power Stadium after 13 years in the Midlands, where magical things have happened since his £1m move from Fleetwood Town in 2012.
Remarkably, the man from Sheffield has won a Premier League title with the Foxes as well as the FA Cup – along with the FA Community Shield – while also reaching the last eight of the UEFA Champions League in 2017.
Goodbye to the GOAT 🐐
— Leicester City (@LCFC)
It has been quite the journey for Jamie Vardy at Leicester City – although it could have ended a lot sooner after Arsenal triggered his £22m release clause in the summer of 2016, only for the Englishman to reject Arsene Wenger.
The story of Jamie Vardy and Arsenal
After the Leicester No.9 hit 24 goals in 36 Premier League appearances to secure the title in the 2015/16 campaign, Arsenal were unsurprisingly keen to recruit him.
Vardy – who Troy Deeney has urged to join West Ham – had a release clause worth just £22m in his contract at the time, which Arsenal triggered, although the striker still needed to be convinced about a move to the Emirates Stadium, which is where Wenger failed.
The Frenchman told beIN SPORTS: “I offered him a lot of money. Leicester had just won the championship at the time in 2016, and they absolutely did not want to lose him and offered him a longer contract with approximately the same money, if not more.”
What Arsene Wenger said in response to doubts about the Leicester City No.9
There were question marks about whether Vardy would suit Arsenal even if a deal had materialised, with the Gunners focused on retaining possession more than Leicester, who instead thrived with a counter-attacking style.
"I offered him a lot of money!"
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN)
More from Arsène Wenger on Jamie Vardy and just how close the Leicester City striker was to signing for Arsenal.
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In response to that, Wenger defended his choice of transfer target, adding: “He is always in the game. He doesn’t look like he mentally gets out of the game and the great strikers are like that. It means he will score at some stage. Even when he misses a chance he stays in the game.
“It is true we had more of the ball, but I think around the box, the timing of his runs and the way he finds the space make him what he is. When you see the big strikers, they are on the move in the box when others stand still in the box. He has those things. They read the game earlier than others, they anticipate better, they understand quicker than other people what is going on.”
Vardy, who Jose Mourinho admires, scored 11 goals in 18 games against Arsenal – no other side conceded more to the Leicester icon – so it is no surprise the Gunners wanted him in N5.