Tag Archives: Jamie Vardy

Vardy shows why Arsenal were right to award “ageing” Aubameyang a new deal

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Liverpool tonight.

The game has been bought forward 15 minutes in line with Boris Johnson’s curfew. Although with the way VAR and added time has been this season, it wouldn’t be a surprise for The game to go beyond the 22nd hour of the day.

The Premier League game is the 1st of two trips to Anfield in 4 days for The Arsenal.

We faced Liverpool twice in 4 days back in January 2007.

Arsenal won those games 3-1 and 6-3 as we knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup and League Cup in the process.

Mikel Arteta has already faced Liverpool twice in his short reign as Arsenal manager – winning 2-1 in the league back in July and more recently winning the Charity Shield against them.

Can he make it 3 wins from 3? And then 4 wins from 4? Why not. History does repeat itself.

A hat trick for Jamie Vardy yesterday in Leicester City’s victory over Spurs.

I remember in 2016 when Arsenal were close to signing Jamie Vardy. Many fans criticised the club for targeting him.

The deal fell through and we ended up with Lucas Perez.

77 goals in 144 games since 2016.

Although had we signed him, we might not have also signed Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang.

Vardy is 33-years old and doesn’t look like slowing down as a goal scorer.

He is two and a half years older than Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

He shows that “players decline at 30” is just a myth.

Also in yesterday’s game we saw Newcastle grab a late equaliser from the penalty spot following another VAR awarded hand ball.

The officials got the decision spot on. The opponents were Tottenham.

On yesterday’s Andrew Marr show, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden said that the Government will be looking to the Premier League to financially assist those clubs lower down in the football leave structure.

This is such a naive take.

It is easy to sit there and think that the Premier League is awash with money and could easily prop up the rest of football.

The reality is that well run clubs like Arsenal could lose over £100m this season if fans do not return to football.

They simply do not have the money to prop up clubs lower down the division when they are struggling financially themselves.

The Premier League and players have been as easy target during the pandemic.

Played and clubs have been called out publicly numerous times to “do more” whilst what they have actually done has been widely ignored in the media.

It is “headline grabbing” and deflection by the Government to target the Premier League.

At any point have they called on major supermarket chains to help out smaller, local shops in a community? Tesco has a revenue of £52bn. Sainsbury £29bn. The combined revenue of Premier League clubs in 2017/18 was £5.8bn.

Telling Premier League clubs that they “shouldn’t buy a new striker” and should instead financially support the lower leagues is simply a ludicrous idea.

The only way the Premier League can support those teams lower down the structure is by allowing fans into stadiums.

That will boost the finances of Premier League clubs and give them the money to redistribute down the leagues.

Without fans, the Premier League cannot afford to prop up the rest of football.

And the Premier League is quickly learning that without match day fans, football is nothing.

Keenos

Some thoughts on Jamie Vardy

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So next season Arsenal will no longer be having a party with Jamie Vardy after he decided to remain at Leicester City for 4 more years. The following is some random thoughts I have on the matter.

Loyalty

Over the years, arsenal fans have abused Emmanuel Adebayor, booed Gael Clichy, hissed at Cesc Fabregas, and called Samir Nasri a C***. All for showing Arsenal no loyalty. For leaving for more money. In most of the cases, taking a step down (at the time) to fill their pockets with gold.

So are we then not a little hypocritical having a go at Jamie Vardy for staying at Leicester City?

The money on the table from Arsenal was more, but he has chosen to stay with the Champions. He has shown loyalty. Should we really be having a go at that?

Bottle

Despite showing loyalty, I do wonder if Jamie Vardy has shown a lack of bottle. Some reported that he wanted assurances that he would be Arsenal’s first choice striker next season. Arsene Wenger will never give those assurances.

Rather than join a bigger club, and compete with Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck, he has decided to remain a big fish in a small pond. He has bottled the challenge.

Played by agents

Jamie Vardy had a release clause. Arsenal were informed of this by Vardy’s representatives. Did they just play Arsenal? Was the plan all along to get Arsenal (or any Premier League club – he had apparently been pimped out to most of the top 10) to show interest, put an offer on the table and then go back to Leicester and get a new contract? Despite only signing a new one in February?

In February it was reported he had signed a new 3 year deal worth £60k a week. This was an increase on his previous £12k deal. He has now signed a four deal for £100k a week. So in 4 months he has increased his contract by £40 and an extra year. That is an extra £7million in his pocket above the contract from February.

Bet Mrs Vardy is happy.

Have Arsenal been played?another-vardy-grap_2911223a

Counter Offer

The way I see it, Arsenal had provisionally agreed a contract with Jamie Vardy. Leicester made a counter offer. They could not match the salary on the table, but offered an extra year.

Anyone who has ever worked in recruitment will know how often counter offers are made, and how annoying they are.

Leicester counter offered Arsenal, and as so often happens, the counter offer was accepted by the employee.

Olivier Giroud

Some interesting stats over the last two Premier League seasons:

Jamie Vardy: 29 goals in 70 Premier League games

Olivier Giroud: 30 goals in 65 Premier League games

When you take into account during that period Vardy scored 5 penalties against Giroud’s 1, it is clear, Olivier Giroud is better than Jamie Vardy.

However, Vardy would have given Arsenal something different. Someone who runs in behind.

Moving Forward

So what next?

The worry for many is that like previous years, we do not have other targets. A Plan B. Will this year be any different?

Part of me thinks it is (and call me crazy!). I think perhaps Vardy was the Plan B. Get him in for relatively cheap in today’s standards, and you still have plenty in the pot if you secure plan A.

When we chased Suarez, the big problem is we let other players go to pursue him. Higuain, Jovetic. This was hopefully going to be different. Secure one whilst you target others.

There are not too many top European strikers available at the moment. Hopefully we have one of them in our sites.

 

Just some random thoughts I have put together. Feel free to agree / disagree

Keenos

What else can Arsenal expect this transfer window?

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I am writing this on Saturday evening. Writing my blogs the night before helps me sleep. It could be a cure for insomnia you might say. anyway, by the time it is blogged (set for 8.40am Monday morning), Jamie Vardy might have been already announced as an Arsenal player.

If he has not, the likelihood is that it will happen at some point today (I now have to imagine that I am writing this tomorrow). Whether it has been announced or not, it seems pretty certain that he is on the way in.another-vardy-grap_2911223a

That then creates a good start to the beginning of the transfer window.

I am sure 3 months ago, we all agreed on what Arsenal need:

  • A pacey striker
  • A defensive midfielder
  • A centre back
  • A right winger

So it is two down, two to go. And it is only the 6th of June. The transfer window does not even officially open until the 1st of next month.

It is a good start. And hopefully that is what it is. A start. We still have more to go. Our business is not done. The cheque book should not be closed.

So what can Arsenal expect from the rest of our transfer summer (in before all the negatives nancies say nothing).

Now before I start, this is all my opinion. I am not privy to any information. This is just me putting together 2 and 2 and getting 12.

Ricardo Rodriguez seems to be one on our radar. Reports are that he has a release clause that we are willing to meet. A first choice left back was certainly not on anyone’s list at the end of the season, but he would be a good positive signing.

The consensus was that Kieran Gibbs’ time at Arsenal was coming to an end. That Arsenal should get shot this summer, and bring in a young left back to provide cover for Nacho Monreal, who within a year or two would replace the 30 year old Spaniard. The likes of Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell and Celtic’s Kieran Tierney were mooted. But it seems Rodriguez is top of the list.

This is a surprise at Rodriguez is not a youngster who would be willing to await his chance. He is 23 years old, is Switzerland’s first choice left back, whom he has 37 caps for, and has over played nearly 250 professional games. He certainly would not be coming to be Monreal’s understudy but as a direct competitor.

He is attacking and has a cracking left foot. In the short term, I think he would be coming in to both compete with Monreal, and also be a left footed option on the wing.

Were Rodriguez to come in, that would be 3 potential starters to have joined this summer.

Now I am of the belief that you do not introduce too many 1st XI players at any one time. It takes players time to settle, time to adapt, time to gel. Too many ends up with a disjointed team and history has shown it would create too any dropped points early on in the season.

By the time they have gelled it is too late.

Personally, 3 1st XI players is already too much. 2 maximum. But then we got back to the original shopping list. Signing a top left back still leaves us a right winger and a centre back short.

I honestly can not see the club signing Rodriguez, than adding a first choice centre back and a first choice right winger. It would leave us with one of the other. This will likely be a centre back.

Centre back is clearly more important than a winger. Laurent Koscielny aside, we are not strong enough at the back. Kalidou Koulibaly and Medhi Benatia seem to be the two at the top of our list.

A centre back is a most.

So where does that leave us with the right wing?

I do not think we will get one.

Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, two who were scheduled to be on their last legs, will be given a lifeline due to Danny Welbeck’s injury.

Again, in my opinion, the plan was obvious. Buy a striker, Welbeck go’s wide where he excells, and Walcott go’s.

With Welbeck out until February at least (don’t expect to see him at all next season) it leaves us short.

But as previously stated, I can not see us integrating a 5th player into the 1st XI. The result is Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, or even Serge Gnabry will start the season on the right wing. The alternative option would be Rodriguez on the left and Alexis Sanchez moving over.

Knowing Arsene and Arsenal, however, it would not be too much of a surprise if we did not buy a centre back and ended up with Henrikh Mkhitaryan on the right.

As for the out goings, I will look into these at another time.

It is going to be a busy summer. Granit Xhaka and Vardy are just the start.

Keenos