Jamie Vardy has predominantly been known for how he’s terrorised opposition defenders with Leicester City in the Premier League.
In total Vardy has scored 143 goals in 334 games in the English top flight, a tally he’s still trying to add to at 38-years-old.
Ruud van Nistelrooy isn’t currently enjoying much success in charge of Leicester but that’s not down to his decision to back Vardy as his number nine – the Englishman is still the club’s top goalscorer this season.
That being said, Vardy obviously isn’t quite at the level which saw him earn 26 caps for England anymore, even if he might still achieve double-figures in the Premier League this term.
Jamie Vardy once named the best player he had ever played against
Back when Vardy was in his prime, he was seldom halted by opposition defences of any kind – it was more common to see him running in behind and scoring rather than being shackled by a centre-back.
But when talking to The Footy Culture last year, Vardy did admit that former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany was the best player he had ever played against.
Vardy was asked a series of questions including the best he’s played with and his most underrated teammate of all time.
| Question | Answer |
| Best player played against | Vincent Kompany |
| Best player played with | Riyad Mahrez |
| Football idol | David Hirst |
| Most underrated teammate | N’Golo Kante |
| Footballer to swap shirts with | Ian Wright |
In terms of Vardy’s record against City, he’s scored nine goals in 21 appearances against the Sky Blues, a record that began whilst Manuel Pellegrini was in charge at the Etihad.
Of course, it’s interesting to note that Vardy did once score a hat-trick against City in a 4-2 win at the King Power in 2016, but that was when Kompany was missing – perhaps backing up the striker’s claim about the Belgian.
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Jamie Vardy loved playing against Arsenal the most
Perhaps some Arsenal fans won’t be too surprised to find out that Vardy has so far scored more goals against them than any other side currently active in the Premier League.
Vardy has scored against Arsenal and Watford 11 times, a player you could never accuse of being a ‘flat-track bully’.
| Club | Goals | Apperances against |
| Arsenal | 11 | 18 |
| Watford | 11 | 15 |
| Liverpool | 10 | 17 |
| Tottenham | 10 | 20 |
| Man City | 9 | 21 |
| Southampton | 9 | 22 |
Interestingly, Danny Simpson thought Vardy would join Arsenal in the past, a move that will always be a story of ‘what if’.
Arsene Wenger famously wanted to bring the tenacious England forward to north London, only to see the club’s advances rejected.
A true one-of-a-kind, and the kind of player who Mikel Arteta might even love to have at the Emirates Stadium in his prime today.
