Jamie Vardy is ready to dominate the European Championships with England this summer, after having one of the most incredible seasons any striker has seen in the history of English Football.
The 29-year-old forward had struggled in lower and non-league football for most of his career, but his 24 goals in the 2015/16 season showed that hard work certainly pays off. Naturally, huge teams are chasing the Englishman’s signature, with Arsenal being the closest to capturing him. Let’s take a look at how he could fit in the team.
With two strikers who can reliably hold down a starting spot on a regular basis, Arsene Wenger has many more options for attacking setups. With two potential signings done before the transfer window has even opened, fans now know their manager means business for the upcoming season. With the regular 4-2-3-1 that Wenger almost always runs, playing Vardy on a wing with Giroud up top and Vardy cutting in off the wing would be a good option, but Vardy has been much more prolific up front.
Another choice that Wenger can make is to revert to the 4-4-2 that he used during his peak years at Arsenal with the ‘Invincibles’ in 2004/05. In that team, he had a slow but technically sound striker in the legendary Dennis Bergkamp, so Olivier Giroud could be a similar yet much worse version of him, while Vardy can be a worse version of Thierry Henry, which will entail making runs of Giroud and drifting out to the wing to take defenders on 1-on-1. That type of formation would change the midfield drastically. Wenger would likely opt for Santi Cazorla and Granit Xhaka in the center of the park with Alexis Sanchez on the left and Mesut Özil on the right side, both of whom would cut inside for the most part. This would mean the fullbacks, likely being Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal, would have to do a lot of offensive work.
Another formation for Wenger to consider is a 4-4-2 diamond, which has worked wonders in recent years for the likes of Juventus and Lyon. It can be played two ways: with a defensive midfielder, an attacking midfielder, and two wingers, or with four center midfielders. Depending on who the opponent is, Wenger could go with Sanchez and Cazorla on the wings with Özil behind the Vardy-Giroud partnership and Xhaka protecting the back line, or with more industrious players like Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey replacing Cazorla and Sanchez to provide more defensive stability while sacrificing width.
No matter how you look at it, Arsenal have options in attack. The bonus of having two solid strikers is that they can play with and without each other, and Wenger can keep opponents guessing what tactics he will throw at them from week to week. With more competition in the squad and with Arsene Wenger working quicker in the transfer market, it seems as though Gooners are in for an entertaining year, and if the two signings are any indication, the team may end up at the top of the table at this time next year.
