There’s a video doing the rounds this morning – quite where it comes from I’m not 100% sure – but Bleacher Report are carrying it.
Arsene Wenger is being interviewed for Chinese TV, or a Chinese web portal perhaps, and is asked about Jamie Vardy. Arsenal have, as we know, met Leicester’s buy out clause and are waiting on a decision.
However, it seems as if the Arsenal manager is already aware of what’s going down, telling the reporter, “Jamie Vardy is at the moment with Leicester, and from what I know he will stay at Leicester.”
Watch below:
So, does that mean we’ve already moved on? Are our sights set elsewhere? Wenger’s comments follow those of the Leicester owner who said this week, “You will see the news very soon, but I think he will stay.”
It seems like it’s time to put a lid on this one, and find another striker. Let’s see what happens.
I think he’d say the same even if he thought Vardy wants to come to us.
Yeah I think it could possibly be a ploy which is designed to be like an ultimatum, putting the ball in Vardy’s where if he still wants to sign he will have to call Arsenal back and this be on the back foot in the negotiation
Higuain please….
I’d prefer Morata
Morata would be great as he is much younger, but no way Wenger will pay what the asking price for him will be especially after he’s done well at the Euros.
I didnt really rate him before the euros, because of his low goalrate, and not having really seen him play.
But seeing him twice now for Spain, im sold.
Hes fast, works his ass off, even scores.
Id like to see him at Arsenal!
60mil plus for a 28 year old? Great logic
Did anyone see Higuains goal against Venezuela… genius. 50-60 million for 3 or 4years of a world class striker? Take it
My Gran it is then…
Its okay, nobody panic, we can now just move our attention over to our number one target, Jovetic.
Kill me now.
Ah bollocks
It’s all died down bug time, looks more likely to stay now it seems. Find another target and go for it
I don’t like bugs…:-)
Wasn’t there some news about a release clause needing to be activated, accepted, and completed by early June, otherwise the fee would rise to £30m? If true, I’m sure a 50% increase would have AW shop elsewhere. Could have just been media tripe though.
For me a typical wenger comment. Also part of me is hoping that this is prior to our bid in him…..
The reason I say that is when bids are in he normally says you’ll see soon and doesn’t give a comment showing one way or the other.
When it comes to transfers it’s really not easy to know if whether what Wenger is saying is what will eventually happen. Wenger always talks about respect for it here clubs so it could be that vardy hasn’t made up his mind yet or it could really mean he isn’t coming. This is a man who has denied knowing players right before he signed them
Weird because the main heads of both clubs are saying he will stay however the player himself has refused to comment and said he is focusing on the Euros. Anyway, we’ll see…
I think vardy not giving an answer is more than likely him just enjoying his moment in the sun being involved in a big transfer story.
I could be wrong but he seems like he’d enjoy being the centre of attention in the England camp so why not drag out the will he/won’t he ‘saga’ untilled after the euros.
I’m not even sure how I’m supposed to feel about this one.
Disappointed we’re missing out on a decent striker?
Glad not to have him associated with our club?
Scared we will go another off season without being able to find a top striker?
Oh well, let’s wait and see I guess!
You sum it up well, sir
Glad to have him not associated with our club, punto final. Him scoring a goal at Euro did not change my mind. Giroud already scored two.
Giroud is great one day, a donkey the next. Vardy has been scoring week in week out like a top striker should. For me signing him is a no brainer
Apples and oranges when you take into account how we play and opposition plays against us.
Nonsense. ALL strikers go through hot and cold streaks. Vardy himself had not one but two eight-game streaks last year where he only scored one league goal – December 5 to January 16, and February 6 to April 3. From December 5 to April 3, he scored only five goals, netting in only five out of nineteen league matches.
Time to go get Morata/Lacazette/Higuain or some unknown guy playing in the Romanian 3rd league who turns out to be the next Eduardo (before his horrific injury – that still makes me sad)
Lacazette is a name wholly put up by the media and his agent. Saw him at the Emirates Cup the other year and thought he was bog average. He scored 21 goals in 3000 minutes last season, in a league where Lyon will only play 4 competitive games not including PSG as obviously nobody competes with them in France. Giroud got 16 in 2400 minutes in a highly competitive league. I just wish people would not parrot whatever they read in a restaurant and think about it a bit.
Redtop, not restaurant. Sorry. Damned auto spell.
Re-read then post.
Auto-spell doesn’t push the ‘Post Comment’ button.
Thanks. Your helpfulness has truly changed my life. I shall be forever thankful for your insight.
It’s amazing the effect “bandwagonism” has on the average fan. Never understood the lacazzette craze, watching him forfor 3 seasons in ligue un, he’s no better than what we already got.
I watched Sanogo against Benfica in the Emirates cup and he looked like a superstar. Wenger should bring him back and give him the number 9 shirt. Based on your stats argument Arsenal should never in a billion years have signed Bergkamp or Henry. They both failed to varying degrees in Italy. Why not look at how Lacazette would suit Arsenal. Or the league. How would he work with Alexis or Ozil? Would he improve working with better players? Would he not handle the spotlight? Is there room for improvement? There’s so many things to look at with a player… Read more »
Totally agree vnjvnjv, the stats, or the league don’t define a player. Two of last seasons top 5 Premier League players were previously plying their trade in Ligue 1 & 2. Kante and Mahrez have shown how players can rise to the challenge. Even our own players like Bellerin and Coquelin proved anonymous in smaller leagues yet rose to the challenge emphatically when called upon. Personally I’m not too convinced Lacazette could stand out in the PL, but I, nor no other, can say for sure.
Sorry, 3 out of 5, Payet too was in Ligue 1 last season.
but they’re wanting ‘superstar’ transfer fees for him and he’s wanting the wages to go with it! that’s the difference!
Bergkamp had a history before his time in Italy and Henry was also well known to AW before his time in Italy, so not really a good comparison. But I agree stats aren’t the be all and end all, however for the numbers being thrown around he’s hardly shown he’s worth it…
Bergkamp had been European player of the year already. Henry was known to Wenger from Monaco. Lacazette is 25 and doesn’t score an exceptional number of goals in a poor league. I’m struggling with how this makes him appropriate for Arsenal.
It’s not a poor league. It’s not as good (currently) as the PL but plenty of players have moved easily from one to the other.
I rate Giroud highly but I’d be very happy for Lacazette to join him if Arsene thought him suitable. He wobbled a bit at the start of last season but he’s done a lot more than Jamie Vardy had at his age.
If true then why is Lacazette not selected for Euro even with Benzema banned?
With the supply line and chances Giroud has had on a plate, his goals to minutes ratio is pants. The previous season, Nebil Fekir was supplying and Lacazette was finishing them. This season he had to adjust without a supplier yet still got 20 goals. For me, that, and his style and movement, means he is tailor made for Arsenal
Lacazette not a top striker.
Good. Didn’t feel right. As long as we’re in for alternatives, we should be happy.
It’s hollywood. They are just distracting the fans. Vardy has told Leicester and Arsenal that he is going Arsenal. This is just what they do so they can get on with other business without being pestered constantly about it. They will release the news that he is coming after the euros. Im supposed how dumb us Arsenal fans are who belive thos stuff about him not coming.
BBC is reporting, too. So far, you have 3 credible sources. And you choose to ignore all the evidence. Not sure what else you want.
Personally I don’t want him at Arsenal. He may be showing “loyalty” but I think he shows lack of ambition and belief in himself. Let’s get another and watch him regret his decision for the rest of his life…
There may be some truth to that analysis. He was a very big fish in a rather small pond last season, and Leicester had just about everything that could possibly go right for them last season, go right. Maybe he realizes expectations and pressure would be higher at Arsenal, and isn’t quite sure he could carry it off.
He is coming off of one stellar season, we may have dodged another Frankie??
The nostalgia of last season is getting to Vardy’s head. What a fool he’d be for turning down a move to Arsenal, especially given his age.
I think he’s mad for not wanting to play for the best team in the league…
But in a world where we demand loyalty from players and vilify the likes of van persie for failing to have it, I find it difficult to fault a player for showing his current club the loyalty we’d demand from him here.
You can’t have it both ways.
Thank you for the common sense post, alot of hypocritical statements around Vardy.
How dare he potentially stay at Leicester and be loyal? He should have more ambition and join us!
Like RVP and his ambition.
I’m happy this deal won’t go through. The only winner would have been Vardy, laughing to the bank regardless of what club he chose. Which I can respect because, well, Money is great thing to have. Anyway, also happy because an early public rejection gives us ample time to look for someone else. It would have been horrible if we put all our eggs in the Vardy basket and it fell through sometime in August. Wish him all the best at Lcfc, lets find someone else. We are the Arsenal.
Talking about transfers, I wonder (if we were indeed interested previously) why we didn’t go back in for William Carvalho? He looked like a perfect fit for us in the game yesterday.
It makes me wonder if the 3rd party ownership issue is in play here, pushing his value up to crazy levels. Why has no one else signed him yet?
Two words: Jorge Mendes. I think it’s silly that we refuse to deal with certain agencies (especially Gestifute) but it’s pretty clear that that’s the policy. Perhaps a legacy of Wenger feeling that he was screwed over on the Cristiano Ronaldo deal back in 2003.
It doesn’t seem like we go in for any of the hyped up players. Don’t think Arsene likes to pay the premium prices.
Fair enough, but he did just spend about £25-30m on Xhaka – I was just wondering if we’d got annoyed with something he or his people did. Maybe wage demands were crazy? He looks very good to me, so I can kind of understand the hype.
It surprises me that no one else has paid the crazy money (Man City or PSG for example) – there must be something behind the scenes that is putting people off.
Maybe you have a point
In the game yesterday? Buy Carvalho and expect lot of 0-0 draws with relagation teams.
I’m American so maybe the culture is different, but I’m struggling to understand the praise for Vardy’s loyalty. Like, he’s 29, this could be his last big pay day, and if these season is as pivotal as it seems, with signings seemingly coming in earlier, Vardy could go down in history as one of the men who changed Arsenal. But ya sure, stay at Leicester and probably finish outside the top four. At least he has champions league football for one year. He’s gonna look silly if mahrez leaves
I don’t think it’s a culture thing. But it is weird that so many Arsenal fans are abusing him for being loyal. Think about it, everything you just said about Vardy and his age all applied to Van Persie (who in the end was proven right as he did win the PL), and we hated him for it. Can’t have it both ways. We can’t call players like Van Persie and Cesc snakes for wanting to win stuff and throwing the “but what about what we did for them?” And then demand players throw loyalty out of he window when… Read more »
I understand, and probably agree with that point, but isn’t there a key difference? Vardy doesn’t owe Leicester a thing. They took a punt on him, he delivered beyond their wildest dreams, and won them the Premier League. The fuckin’ Premier League! Could they really begrudge him a chance to earn more/play for a ‘big club’, at the end of his career? Van Persie, on the other hand, was shown unbelievable loyalty by Wenger, sticking by him despite rape allegations and years on the treatment table, before stabbing him in the back after one good season, despite full knowledge of… Read more »
Great comment. This is why no one is begrudging henry or vieira or pires or reyes or overmars or anelka for leaving. They showed ambition and left but not by stabbing their team in the back and lying and frigging writing break up loveletters to the fans.
That’s your way of looking at it. Leicester fans would say they plucked him out from obscurity and gave him a chance even though he had a poor first season at them, and also backed him after the racism allegations too. And sure you can say he repaid their faith by winning them stuff, but one could easily argue Van Persie repaid his by single handily keeping us in the top 4, and if Wenger had bought the quality required in that time, he would’ve walked it. And do you think Wenger stuck behind Van Persie purely out of the… Read more »
Obviously there’s no way for me to substantiate that I hold this belief but I’m honestly not too bothered about RVP and Cesc from a loyalty standpoint just because they both seemed pretty respectful (albeit only after leaving in RVP’s case) about leaving and made the right choices for their careers (although maybe Cesc made a mistake). As much as I was upset they both left it wouldn’t have made sense for either of them to stay from a career standpoint. Having said that, Vardy is definitely on shakier ground with Leicester in my opinion. He only joined them in… Read more »
I’m not so sure if rvp made the right decision to leave in hindsight.
Sure he won the league with united but we were close to the title on a few occasions since he left and having him up front might have got us over the line. Add in the fa cups and he could have had a couple of titles and a couple of cups, maybe even a double, if he had stayed.
I guess we’ll never know.
Just to be clear as well I don’t really care about Vardy coming or not, from a football standpoint it could be an amazing deal but it also could be a gobshite one, it’s quite a gamble. But we definitely should have eyes on better targets
There is another key difference, Vardy won the league with Leicester, neither VanPersie or Fabregas had that to consider.
Anyway I read that he is wearing nicotine patches, that he eats whatever he wants, and he does not go to the gym. That’s what works for him, so that’s what he does.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/36568105
Hard to believe that kind of thing would fly at Arsenal with Wenger.
If the newspapers are to be believed, we’re offering him a 3 or 4 year contract whilst Leicester is offering him a 5 year contract. So overall he could be financially better off staying, but only financially.
Can you imagine the SCENES if after all this we actually do sign Jamie Waldy instead of Vardy!
*PC disclaimer* I know I know, I’ll sound even worse if I try to pronounce any Chinese names and this lady’s English is 1000 times better than my Mandarin would ever be let alone when spoken on camera talking to someone of Wenger’s stature I was having a giggle.
Plus, she’s pretty hot, in a totally non-sexist way on my part.
I’ll start worrying after the major championship in Europe and in South America if everything goes all quiet.
Leicester have done everything they can to keep Vardy, Wenger should take notes. To many times he has let some of our best players join rival clubs without fighting for them. He also has a tendency to give up rather easily when it come to transfers like when he let Napoli bully us out of the Higuain deal. A club half our weight. I wont be surprised to see Vardy get picked up by Man United or City later on because they dont take no for an answer so easily. That being said I agree with Henry when he said… Read more »
He had to sell some players instead of letting them run down their contract because we (the club) couldn’t afford to let them go without earning from them, that’s some how not fighting to keep them…
Might be well wide of the mark but do you think that (what I felt) there was a generally negative attitude to the potential signing might have put him off, or do players not care about that sort of thing?
Its the easy option for Vardy. If he has a bad season next year the Leicester fans won’t mind, he’ll still be a club hero. If he comes to Arsenal he HAS to perform and there will be a ton of pressure on him.
To be honest I’m all a bit “meh” with this deal, if it happens then fine but not going to be upset if it doesn’t.
Pondering the possibility of Vardy not coming. Is it a big deal? Are there others on par or better? There must be, surely?
Could be straight up but wouldn’t be surprised if Arsene is calling his bluff, remember what Fergie said about his poker skills…?
Never trust a man who looks like a weasel.
A weasel who scores goals none the less.
He could be our weasel though
Back in 2012 Van Persie didn’t make an announcement about leaving until after the Euros. Whether you want Vardy to happen or not, just saying.
interesting that he’s still talking about draxler – a player he really wanted a year back who has had a really good season in a poor wolfsburg team.
lots of talk previously about “converting” him into a striker – this season??!! or too much of a risk…
Converting strikers from other positions isn’t easy. For every Henry, there’s a dozen Walcotts. If we sign Draxler, it should be with an eye to what he is, not a vague hope of what he might be one day if we’re lucky.
Not fussed either way tbh.
im wondering if its because of the backlash that Vardy will take if he decides on arsenal now, hence the vibe about him staying at leicester. After the euros then he’ll ‘change his mind’ and arsenal will be his preferred club. His missus is already complaining so it makes sense.
ugh im gutted. I really want him and can still see him playing for us. I have had it in my he was gonna sign so be weird seeing us not get him for me :/
Honestly, pipe down about Vardy being to unsavoury for this club. He made a mistake, may have had some racism underlying in his persona which came flooding out in the drunken incident. But seriously, life moves forward, people learn from their mistakes and become better people. None of you are perfect, so stop pretending every player is or should be pur feck. It’s embarrassing and entirely insane. He plays in teams with a variety of races, I’m sure his relationships with people are perfectly normal and not untoward based on ethnicity. By all means if Vardy doesn’t join say “good… Read more »
Thinks that all these is for Leicester fans to think he’s thought very hard before deciding. Also Leicester begged him to go to Euros as their player. Unlike Xhaka who is an Arsenal player in Euros even though he just played for Glabbach.
Not a big deal at all if this deal falls through. We still have good time to shop for a better striker all around Europe.
There seem to be quite a few promising young strikers on the market. Milik looks good for Poland, Moussa Dembele from Fulham has been linked, there are others like Batshuayi and Janseen. Morata obviously although it doesn’t look like he is coming. Lacazette looks like he could be worth having, but he won’t be cheap.
You’d hope we will end up with something decent. Not sure about us getting somebody who is the finished article though, that seems too much to hope for.
It’s good to hear from Wenger that we are interested in talents like Sane, Draxler or Mor because Coman and Martial are near impossible. In the Euros so far Draxler has really impressed me and seems to be linking up well with Ozil. Sane on the other hand is also a good player and likely to move as Schalke didn’t qualify for the champions league. Mor just went to Dortmund so a deal for him is also unlikely. If we do get a deal for Sane or Draxler in the future it would be excellent as both players are capable… Read more »
Wouldn’t hold much in that comment. Would pay more attention to the fact that Leicester are bidding £25m for Troy Deeney. They are positioning for his departure.
I don’t care if Vardy come to arsenal or not. What I care, we have to sign a good striker before 1st september
He’s had a medical but still think he will stay at Leicester
Chile’s Vargas…
Please be true!!!! It would make my day. I would prefer anyone else (Lukaku please)
Ah well, let’s hope Jack Wilshire 2 foots him off the plane when England fly back if he has turned us down ? Although that will probably crop him for the season also
Lol at the way Wenger says “SORRY??” to that woman when she says jemee vawdaw is crose to us.
Lukaku Please.
I would like that.
Another option which I haven’t heard much mentioned is Wissam Ben Yedder, who wants to move on from Toulouse. Do people think he’s too small and slight for the PL?
He’s regularly been scoring in the mid-teens for a fairly small team.
Didn’t want him, don’t want him and hoping he doesn’t come. His arm needs an operation so he’d be out for a while and don’t see his drinking, chewing, spitting, red bull training scheme going down well at Arsenal. I’m hoping this means we’ve pulled the plug on this offer and can move on to something more sensible.
The only reasons Vardy was a good deal were (1) he can replace Walcott who we sell for a similar price, (2) he is cheap so we can buy Mkhitaryan. Now that Walcott is going nowhere and Mkhitaryan probably won’t come (doesn’t matter if it’s true he prefers United or not), I think we should blow the funds on 1 excellent striker. Come on, we didn’t spend sh*t last summer…
You can tell off camera Wenger gave the presenter the same chat up line he gave to Xhaka Khan. Thats why she is so hot and bothered.
Lukaku anybody? Young with proven success in premier league and he’s looking for a way out
Did anyone else read, “From what I have heard, Vardy is staying at Leicester.” As “Mahrez though…” ?
For those who wanna watch this full interview:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Gunners/comments/4ot6a4/arsene_wengers_full_interview_in_china/
Whoever Arsenal buy will come out of left field. It’ll be someone nobody expects. Wenger won’t spend the reported fees on Lukaku or Morata. I just hope this doesn’t end up with us signing no one at all.
Just hope we get somebody good really. Will be interesting to see who we end up with.