With Arsenal activating Jamie Vardy’s release clause, we thought it might be interesting to remind ourselves what sort of things Arsene Wenger has said about the Leicester City man in the past to try and gauge just what’s going on in his head.

Vardy’s release clause is said to be in the region of £20m and while Leicester are still trying to keep hold of their top scorer, back in December, Wenger said that the Englishman was worth even more – £30m to be precise.

“Yes he is worth £30m, because he is the best goal-scorer in the league,” Wenger told reporters. “You have many players under him who have been paid much more, and who don’t score that number of goals. Without a doubt, he is worth that money today.”

Of course, that was back before he had won the Premier League and when he only had a couple of England caps. What’s he really worth now if you take out the release clause and factor in the English premium?

Just a month before Wenger made those comments, he was likening Vardy to Alexis Sanchez“Sometimes he [Sanchez] finishes and you think, “He’s dead now,” Wenger commented.

“But then he recovers and gives 100 per cent again.

“You always see signs of exhaustion but it’s not, because two days later he’s fine. His style is very explosive. Jamie Vardy is a bit similar. They go when they go.

“They are like the lion. He has to catch the animal in the first 200 metres. If he doesn’t get there, after, he’s dead.

“They are these kind of killers. When they go, it is to kill and after they have to stop.”

So. Worked out what to make of all this yet?

I think if you’d asked most people who they thought the striker likely to arrive at the club could be, Vardy wouldn’t have been at the top of many people’s lists.

Perhaps Wenger is hoping to emulate Sir Alex Ferguson when he purchased a certain Robin van Persie when he was the same age. Look how that turned out for Ferguson in his final season.

Who the hell knows, eh?