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Cape Town - Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy has revealed the reasons for deciding against moving to Arsenal during the summer transfer window.
Vardy had a season to remember last time out, winning the Premier League with the Foxes, becoming a regular in the England side, being named footballer of the year by the Football Writers' Association and getting married.
It was during Euro 2016 in France that the 29-year-old was linked with a high-profile move to the Emirates Stadium, but ultimately decided on signing a new deal with Leicester instead.
"I was in a hotel room for many hours of every day with nothing to do," Vardy said.
"You had a lot of time on your hands. I am not going to beat around the bush. Every time I thought about it, and every aspect of it I thought about, both my head and my heart were saying to stay, which is why I made my decision to stay.
"Deep down if you don't think it is right move for you, you don't do it. It is as simple as that. You get that much time to think about every single thing down to the tea lady.
"You think about what might happen, what might not, where you could be, where not. Every time I thought about every little thing, both head and heart were saying, 'You need to stay.'
"In my professional life it was the hardest decision. It was hard but, like I said, when it came to my head and my heart it was an easy decision."
Vardy admitted that he ran into Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger at various hotels during the tournament, and that there was no animosity between them.
"To be fair I spoke to him a couple of times in the hotels we were in while we were in France. It was just, 'Hi, are you all right?', and walk off to the match," he continued.
"It was basically every hotel. I think he was doing French TV for the Euros. It wasn't awkward, it was just a simple, 'Hello, are you okay?' That kind of thing.
"It was a nice compliment they wanted to buy me. But my head and heart were saying stay."
Vardy had a season to remember last time out, winning the Premier League with the Foxes, becoming a regular in the England side, being named footballer of the year by the Football Writers' Association and getting married.
It was during Euro 2016 in France that the 29-year-old was linked with a high-profile move to the Emirates Stadium, but ultimately decided on signing a new deal with Leicester instead.
"I was in a hotel room for many hours of every day with nothing to do," Vardy said.
"You had a lot of time on your hands. I am not going to beat around the bush. Every time I thought about it, and every aspect of it I thought about, both my head and my heart were saying to stay, which is why I made my decision to stay.
"Deep down if you don't think it is right move for you, you don't do it. It is as simple as that. You get that much time to think about every single thing down to the tea lady.
"You think about what might happen, what might not, where you could be, where not. Every time I thought about every little thing, both head and heart were saying, 'You need to stay.'
"In my professional life it was the hardest decision. It was hard but, like I said, when it came to my head and my heart it was an easy decision."
Vardy admitted that he ran into Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger at various hotels during the tournament, and that there was no animosity between them.
"To be fair I spoke to him a couple of times in the hotels we were in while we were in France. It was just, 'Hi, are you all right?', and walk off to the match," he continued.
"It was basically every hotel. I think he was doing French TV for the Euros. It wasn't awkward, it was just a simple, 'Hello, are you okay?' That kind of thing.
"It was a nice compliment they wanted to buy me. But my head and heart were saying stay."
