Why Jamie Vardy rejected Arsenal after Arsene Wenger activated Leicester’s £22m release clause

Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy has established himself as a Premier League legend, but he could have done it at Arsenal.

Vardy helped Leicester gain promotion to the Premier League in 2014, and his goals kept Leicester top by a slim margin.

They then did the unthinkable by winning the 2015-16 title against all odds and at Arsenal’s expense, with Arsene Wenger’s side finishing runners-up.

Despite Danny Welbeck’s last-minute winner against Leicester, Arsenal finished 10 points behind the champions and Wenger needed extra firepower.

Vardy was outstanding, scoring 24 goals and providing seven assists in the league, sparking interest from Arsenal as Wenger activated his release clause.

However, such a move never materialized and almost a decade later, Vardy remains at Leicester and is still scoring goals in the Premier League, but how close was he to joining Arsenal?

Photo: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Why Arsenal didn’t sign Jamie Vardy from Leicester in 2016

Wenger activated Vardy’s £22 million release clause in the summer of 2016, leaving Vardy with a decision to make before traveling with England to Euro 2016.

However, he then announced his intention to stay at Leicester and did not follow N’Golo Kante out the exit door at the King Power Stadium.

In a speech after the transfer window closed, Vardy explained why he rejected Arsenal’s offer.

“I stayed in my hotel room (in Chantilly) for hours every day with nothing to do. You had a lot of free time,” he said of his time spent at the European Championships.

“I won’t beat around the bush – every time I thought about it and every aspect I thought about, both my head and my heart told me to stay at Leicester and that’s why I made the decision to stay.

“There were plenty of reasons. You have so much time to think about every single thing, until the tea lady. You think about what might happen and what might not happen. Where you can be, where you can’t be. But every time I thought about the smallest thing, both my head and my heart said, “You have to stay.”

“I understand what people are thinking when they assume I’m going to leave, but deep down if you don’t think it’s right for you, don’t do it. It’s that simple.

“In my professional life, it was the hardest decision I have ever had to make, but I haven’t been a professional for very long. It was difficult, but it was actually an easy decision. “

How Arsene Wenger reacted to Jamie Vardy’s refusal

Wenger accepted that Vardy would not join his team and later pounced on Deportivo La Coruna striker Lucas Perez in the transfer window.

The Spaniard was not given a chance despite some impressive moments and now returns to Depor alongside former Hale End player Charlie Patino.

Vardy, meanwhile, scored in the Champions League against Leicester, suffered relegation and helped the team rise again, and also scored 11 goals against Arsenal.

Vardy revealed that he met with Wenger several times after his offer was rejected, but there was no awkwardness.

“I spoke to him several times in the hotels we were in,” Vardy added.

“These meetings helped me make my decision: basically every hotel we stayed at. It wasn’t awkward though. It was just a simple “Hello, are you okay”… that type of thing. I took it as a nice compliment that they wanted to buy me.

Vardy hopes he can still play for Leicester even at an older age. While Arsenal may have benefited from signing him, Vardy managed to become a legend at Leicester, something he may not have been able to do at Arsenal.