Jamie Vardy is on the verge of joining Arsenal following a reported £20 million offer and a subsequent £120,000 a week contract, according to The Mirror.
The England striker is yet to decide his future however, with Leicester preparing a counter offer as they are desperate to hold on to the talisman of their title winning campaign.
However, Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has spoken out, stating that Vardy personally told him that he ‘wants to join Arsenal’.
Whether or not the above is true, it will certainly have Foxes fans quaking in their boots and Gunners fans sounding the trumpets as the striker’s future hangs in the balance.
Vary scored 27 goals in all competitions last season, helping his side to the arguably most incredible sporting achievement of all time by winning the Premier League against all, or at least 5000-1 odds.
If Arsene Wenger is to complete the move for the Englishman, he would be acquiring himself one of the League’s top strikers and certainly one of the most inform in Europe.
The move for Vardy is unusual however in that it is not a ‘Wenger’ move, and has had many questioning whether it be the right one for the club. Here is why Vardy is not your run-of-the-mill Arsenal signing ….
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PRESS THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE 5 REASONS WHY THIS IS SUCH A STRANGE SIGNING FOR ARSENAL
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He’s English
First off, Vardy is English. While Wenger has signed English players in the past, and many have come through the academy, it is generally unusual for the Frenchman to look to both this country and league for his summer acquisitions.
In-fact, out of the previous 15 Arsenal signings, Vardy is only the third Englishman – the other two being Calum Chambers and Danny Welbeck.
His Age
At 29 years of age, you could argue that Vardy was coming towards the latter stages of his career and that he could be past his best. While his form undoubtedly dismisses that theory and Wenger is acquiring himself a player in the form if his life – it again is out of ordinary to go for a player of that age.
Besides Petr Cech, Vardy would be the oldest of their signings over the past 6 seasons, with Sebastian Squillaci being the last ‘golden oldy’ to sign for the club back in 2010/2011.
The Cost
£20 million may not sound too hefty a price tag for a player who won the Premier League and finished second top scorer in the League last time out, however the signing would be Arsenal’s fourth most expensive of all time.
Perhaps more astonishly is that Vardy would become the Gunner’s most expensive ever striker. That means he cost more than Theirry Henry, Sylvain Wiltord, Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck and most surprisingly Francis Jeffers. (I joke, I joke)
His Style of Play
If you look at the strikers Arsenal have signed over the past seasons, not one of them is similar to Vardy.
Both Giroud and Welbeck work best in confined spaces and are generally excellent with the ball at their feet, Lukas Podolski enjoyed coming deep or out wide and Emmanuel Adebayor was an aerial threat, great at holding the ball up.
And those are just to name a few. Vardy is old fashioned in a sense – he enjoys running in behind and his high energy pressing makes life hard work for defenders. Signing the Foxe’s striker could represent a change in style for Arsene Wenger.
It’s Only June
Wenger loves keeping his fans waiting. Mesut Ozil was the deadline day signing that shook the Emirates, Danny Welbeck was another last minute steal from Manchester United and it even took until mid-July for Arsenal to announce the signing of Alexis Sanchez.
Possibly because the Euro’s are just around the corner and Wenger wants to make a move before a potential host of others become interested, but it is odd to see the Gunner’s making waves so early in the transfer window having already signed Granit Xhaka too.
