No matter what you think about Jamie Vardy, there’s no denying he’s quite the character.

Playing for Fleetwood Town just a few seasons ago, his rise has been meteoric and with his impending move to Arsenal, it seems like the fairytale isn’t quite over just yet.

So as we all try and work out how we’re going to reconcile our general dislike of Vardy with the thought he’s going to be an Arsenal player we have to support, here are 15 things he actually said.

By the end, we hope you have a better idea of the person Arsenal are buying, not just the player.

1 “My life has changed, but I’m not money-motivated at all; that’s the last thing on my mind. I just want to play football and that’s how I’ve always been. To be honest with you, that shows in my performances, that I’m in a happy place, knowing that I’m doing the job that I love.” 

YEOVIL, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 13: Goalscorers Jamie McGuire (L) and Jamie Vardy (R) of Fleetwood Town celebrate their sides 2-0 victory during the FA Cup Second Round Replay match between Yeovil Town and Fleetwood Town at Huish Park on December 13, 2011 in Yeovil, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
YEOVIL, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 13: Goalscorers Jamie McGuire (L) and Jamie Vardy (R) of Fleetwood Town celebrate their sides 2-0 victory during the FA Cup Second Round Replay match between Yeovil Town and Fleetwood Town at Huish Park on December 13, 2011 in Yeovil, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

2 “The best present I’ve ever given someone is myself.” 

3 “I had to do it (the streak) once as a forfeit at Fleetwood. I can’t remember why ,but it was normally something to do with being late or the worst prank of the day.” 

4 “If I’m played out of position I’ll always give 100%, but everyone knows I would rather play down the middle. I also think for myself, and the club as a whole, the year’s experience last season has done us the world of good. The confidence in knowing that we can give teams a game, which showed in the run-in when we pulled away from the relegation zone, helped us all out and we’ve just carried that on.”

FLEETWOOD, ENGLAND - JANUARY 07: Jamie Vardy of Fleetwood Town celebrates after scoring his goal during the FA Cup sponsored by Budweiser third round match between Fleetwood Town and Blackpool at Highbury Stadium on January 7, 2012 in Fleetwood, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
FLEETWOOD, ENGLAND – JANUARY 07: Jamie Vardy of Fleetwood Town celebrates after scoring his goal during the FA Cup sponsored by Budweiser third round match between Fleetwood Town and Blackpool at Highbury Stadium on January 7, 2012 in Fleetwood, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

5 “That’s how every striker should feel otherwise there’s no point in being a striker, it’s as simple as that, that’s what I get paid for – to put the ball in the back of the net.”

6 “She’s changed me. She’s such a calming influence. When I was living on my own, for a footballer it’s easy to do the things that you’re not supposed to, or not what the sport science team says. For example, if there’s a packet of crisps, you’re going to eat them. The same with a packet of sweets. Go to bed at a certain time? You’re not going to if you’re on your own. Having Becky and the kids there is brilliant for me.” 

7 “When I got released for being too small it was a real heartache. That was one of the reasons I stopped because I thought I would never be a professional.” 

FLEETWOOD, ENGLAND - JANUARY 07: Jamie Vardy of Fleetwood Town celebrates after scoring his goal during the FA Cup sponsored by Budweiser third round match between Fleetwood Town and Blackpool at Highbury Stadium on January 7, 2012 in Fleetwood, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
FLEETWOOD, ENGLAND – JANUARY 07: Jamie Vardy of Fleetwood Town celebrates after scoring his goal during the FA Cup sponsored by Budweiser third round match between Fleetwood Town and Blackpool at Highbury Stadium on January 7, 2012 in Fleetwood, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

8 “I pinch myself every day anyway. Everyone knows the road I have had in the game, and how I have managed to get myself to where I am today. Obviously it has been tough, but it is nice to be among those names.”

9 “That’s fine by me, I hate wearing a suit.” (on not making BBC Sports Personality of the Year)

10 “This is the top-flight all-time record and it’s set by a Sheffield United player, so being a Sheffield Wednesday fan I’d love to beat it.” 

11 “I nearly clapped! because I am a football fan first and that was a world class strike to witness.” 

12 “I was out one night with a friend who wore a hearing aid. Two lads, for no reason, thought it would be funny to start knocking him and attacking him. I am not proud of what I did but I stuck up for him and defended him, as I would for any mate. It ended up getting me into a bit of trouble.

13 “I couldn’t go out, I was locked in the house. All my mates would be out but I was sat at home. Luckily, I had a big DVD collection so I would watch loads of movies every night. It was something I had to learn from and I did.”

14 “That is one of the things that has made me the person sat in front of you. It was hard. It had an effect on my family as well because I am in the house constantly. It was tough not being able to do what any normal 20-year-old wants to do.”

15 “You could actually wear the bracelet as an ankle guard. It would protect your ankles. There was no way of breaking it. You could hit it with a hammer and it wouldn’t come off. It was unbreakable.”