With Vardy set to snub Arsenal, we take a look at Wenger’s inability to get transfers over the line ahead of the Premier League season.
In a bizarre interview with Chinese media outlet Trencent, Arsene Wenger all but confirmed that Jamie Vardy has turned down Arsenal in favour of remaining with Premier League champions Leicester City.
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The embarrassment of being rejected by a player who was in non-league just four years ago aside, Arsenal have lost out on their primary transfer target for the umpteenth time.
The snub represents the latest wild goose chase the club have embarked on after a player, only to be inevitably turned down once again. The only saving grace perhaps is that the saga didn’t last all summer and it means Arsenal can now focus on other striking targets. But with their track record of getting signings over the line, there can be no guarantees there will not be another Vardy-style misfire before the transfer window closes.
It seems as if the club has no method of testing the waters to know if a player is interested or not, before going gun-ho in with an offer.
Arsenal fans will remember the petulant £40m and one pound offer for Luis Suarez they thought would trigger a release clause. They were left red-faced after it turned out to be a higher fee required and the move consequently fell apart.
During the same summer, Wenger haggled over Gonzalo Higuain’s valuation. Arsenal’s indecision made Higuain feel unwanted and they ended up letting the Real Madrid striker slip through their grasp to sign with Napoli.
There was the infamous 2011-12 summer, where it took Arsenal to lose 8-2 to Manchester United before they panicked and signed Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker, Andre Santos and Park Chu-young. And the summer of 2013-14 where Arsenal failed to sign anyone except Yaya Sanogo and Mathieu Flamini on frees before the transfer-record shattering Mesut Ozil was brought in on deadline day.
Alongside these ill-advised pursuits are historic misjudgments and indecisiveness which have blighted Arsenal’s chances of securing talent.
And the list of world-class players that Wenger claimed he had in his grasp before dallying and failing to pull the trigger, or haggling over their valuation, grows ever longer.
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Dimitri Payet is the most recent star Wenger admitted he “watched many times” but decided against offering for. It is known he refused to pay £5m for a young Vincent Kompany and Wenger even said he turned down the chance to sign Didier Drogba for £100,000 at Le Mans.
Despite having Yaya Toure on trial in a pre-season friendly he missed out on him and he offended Zlatan Ibrahimovic by offering him a trial ahead of a potential transfer from Malmo.
There are even stories of offering Cristiano Ronaldo a tour of London Colney before Sir Alex Ferguson snuck in under their noses.
Of course it is hard to slam a manager who has also spotted the potential of so many raw young talents which have developed into stars; Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira etc. But for a man who prides himself on spotting potential, he has let a lot of world class talent go.
Not to say Jamie Vardy is world class, but character concerns aside, he would be the perfect striker for Arsenal’s need. He is a pacey, direct counter-attacking option. All Arsenal have in their striking reserves are target-man Olivier Giroud, a crocked Danny Welbeck and an out-going Theo Walcott.
With the Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and even Granit Xhaka signings, Wenger has demonstrated he is prepared to spend money on the right player. It just depends on whether Wenger fancies them badly enough, or perhaps is pressured enough by Ivan Gazidis.
With sleeping giants in Manchester, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham looking set for big summers, Arsenal must bring in players with enough time to get them settled in the squad. And with a squad that again looks just a couple players short of winning the Premier League – the signings Arsenal make will likely be decisive to their chances.
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Either through a lack of understanding the transfer market or a reluctance to make decisions on big signings, Wenger having the final say on transfers seems less and less of a wise policy every season for Arsenal.