Blog Archives
Quick Arsenal Euro 2016 Update and Latest Updates on Vardy
It was a busy weekend for me with exams and all (yes, I’m a post-graduate student) but the group stages of Euro 2016 are gradually reaching their climaxes with teams knowing their respective destinies. From an Arsenal perspective, Granit Xhaka was a force yet again, as Switzerland shared the spoils with France. He made 94 passes (completed 89% of them), won three tackles, won three aerial duels and had 10 ball recoveries in another combative midfield performance. He even got his shirt ripped off!
Many Gooners didn’t know much about this guy in his Bundesliga days and it was evident that we were going to see things for ourselves in a major tournament like the Euros and boy, has he been impressive or not. He’s so tidy on the ball and his passing range is fantastic. He is definitely going to be a mainstay in the team and it’s up to Arsene Wenger to determine his partner in central midfield.
Speaking of Wenger, the boss was interviewed by a Chinese lady and was asked about Jamie Vardy,
“Jamie Vardy is at the moment at Leicester and on what I know, he will stay at Leicester”
As you’d expect from modern-day journos, all sorts of headlines popped up all over the internet. Some confirmed that Vardy was definitely staying at Leicester but a wiser person would know that this decision solely rests on the player himself. He was recently interviewed but he remained coy on his future, citing that playing with England at the Euros was his priority at the moment.
Vardy would be part of the England squad that takes on Slovakia tonight and I’d expect him to start ahead of the likes of Raheem Sterling, except Roy Hodgson believes that he would remain as an impact sub. He grabbed a goal in his last appearance for the Three Lions, latching unto Ashley Williams’ error to poke the ball past Wayne Hennessey.
Vardy would be 30 in January, and he has already stated that he would make a decision on his future after the European Championships. I guess it’s worth the wait.
Sayonara.
Download the Gooner Daily BlackBerry App to receive notifications on your Smart Phone when a post is published.
Follow Gooner Daily on Twitter @goonerdaily.
Visit Gooner Daily’s Facebook page.
Click on the “Follow button” to join Gooner Daily’s Mailing List
There is Heavy Rain in Lagos…Thanks a lot, Vardy!
It’s one of those mornings when you gear yourself up to write something about Arsenal and then it starts raining. Not just the simple drizzles that you can live with. H.E.A.V.Y rain! And I have a hunch it has to do with Jamie Vardy’s transfer saga. Maybe it’s not a hunch, it’s pretty much certain.
Somewhere in Lagos, there is some folk that did his laundry a while ago and is happy that he’s gonna pick it up in a bit. Alas! It’s back to square one as his clothes are all soaked up, now he has to change his plans of what he wants to wear to work! Aaaargh! Thanks to Vardy.
Out of the blue, everyone has an opinion on Vardy’s transfer and they seem to have all the close sources here and there. Twitter has gone berserk with all sorts of tales surfacing from there and becoming tiring. @BBCSport says that Vardy is expected to decide whether he will join Arsenal on Monday. Errrrr, that was yesterday!
@Lexus7Sanchez, who seems to know the great David Orstein, tweeted that Vardy is mulling over whether he wants to leave the Foxes. Awwww! Are you serious? I’m sure Vardy picked up the phone and called Rebekah Lexus7Sanchez, eyes to the ceiling and was like,
“Hey, Lexus7Sanchez, I really need to talk to you. I wanna join Arsenal but I love Leicester”
Then Vardy is rolling from one side of the bed to another, mulling over, mulling over, mulling mulling over…
@fkhanage had a different opinion though. His own thoughts was about the banter, unbelievable banter of the highest order (as he tweeted) if Vardy turns down Arsenal in his public announcement tomorrow (Monday). Wow! Maybe his source told him that Vardy was going on air to make his a.n.n.o.u.n.c.e.m.e.n.t. Well, I waited but nah, Vardy didn’t feel we were worthy of his great announcement.
@OsmanZtheGooner thought and tweeted,
“Surely, Arsenal would have talked to Vardy’s reps before triggering his release clause. It’s somehow surprising that he’s yet to decide. It would be an absolute tragic if he turns down Arsenal after his release clause was activated. Worse than the Suarez saga”
Over to you, Arsenal reps. Did you guys call Vardy’s folks before you activated the release clause? How did you even know about such a clause? Wily foxes, the lot of ya!
Opinions here, opinions there. It doesn’t matter. I think I’d wait till I see something on Arsenal.com before I raise my hopes. I can’t deny that they were raised though, but we just had to Arsenal it as we do all things.
Ah! I think the rain has stopped.
Thanks a lot, Vardy!
Sayonara.
Download the Gooner Daily BlackBerry App to receive notifications on your Smart Phone when a post is published.
Follow Gooner Daily on Twitter @goonerdaily.
Visit Gooner Daily’s Facebook page.
Click on the “Follow button” to join Gooner Daily’s Mailing List
Dilemma as Vardy Mulls Over Joining Arsenal or Staying at Leicester
We were 100% sure about a few things – Arsenal were interested in acquiring the services of Jamie Vardy and even activated his release clause. This meant that Leicester was ‘powerless’ as the Gunners discussed with Vardy’s representatives and a bumper £120,000-per-week deal was agreed. Vardy had recently signed an £80,000-per-week deal at the tail end of last season as a reward for his performances in the league last season.
Everything seemed to be going according to plan. Vardy was even set to have his medicals in London Colney before returning to the England camp ahead of their scheduled travel to France today. Instead of rolling over and playing dead, Leicester launched a counter offer to their prized asset, bringing a new contract that is believed to match what the Gunners are offering their man.
This has somewhat turned the screw on the move and as it stands, it’s down to Vardy himself to determine whether he would stay at Leicester or move to North London. A real dilemma indeed. The forward is within his own rights to make a decision on his future but it’s worth noting that there are some pros and cons (from my perspective, obviously) if he chooses to stay or leave Leicester. Let’s look at them shall we?
Vardy Decides to Stay at Leicester – PROS
- New bumper contract of £120,000-per-week
- Confirmed Champions League football this season
- There is no doubt that with him spearheading the Foxes attack, they could mount another title challenge
- He will earn more respeck from the Leicester faithful as the man that stayed and there would be more adoration for him
Vardy Decides to Stay at Leicester – CONS
- At 29, this is his final chance to make one big move in his career
- He would have thrown away the chance to join one of the most prestigious clubs in English football
- He would have missed the opportunity to play alongside quality teammates like Petr Cech, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez that would have fed him with a boatload of chances to stake a better claim for the Golden Boot that Harry Kane won
As I stated earlier, the decision rests entirely with Vardy and we would know in the coming hours.
Sayonara
Download the Gooner Daily BlackBerry App to receive notifications on your Smart Phone when a post is published.
Follow Gooner Daily on Twitter @goonerdaily.
Visit Gooner Daily’s Facebook page.
Click on the “Follow button” to join Gooner Daily’s Mailing List
