Leicester's Vardy has no regrets over rejecting Arsenal
(Reuters) - Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy said he has no regrets over rejecting a move to Arsenal during the close season despite the Premier League champions' recent struggles.
Vardy, who scored 24 league goals during Leicester's title-winning campaign, had the release cause in his contract triggered by Arsenal but he opted to sign a four-year extension with the Foxes in June.
Following their stunning title triumph last season, Leicester are battling against the drop, sitting a point and a place above the bottom three. In contrast, Arsenal are fourth with 50 points, 29 ahead of Leicester with 13 games remaining.
The England international has been far from his prolific best this season, scoring seven goals in 33 appearances. The 30-year-old Vardy, however, ended his nine-match goal drought during Wednesday's 2-1 Champions League loss to Spanish side Seville in the first leg of the last-16 clash.
When asked if he had any regrets about not joining Arsenal in the close season, Vardy said: "No regrets whatsoever."
Leicester's poor form has raised questions over Claudio Ranieri's future despite the club publicly voicing their support for the manager, who recently played down recent media reports suggesting he has lost control over his dressing room.
"I can categorically confirm that every single person is behind Claudio. He's a great guy and he's the same as us, he doesn't want to be in this position," Vardy added.
Leicester will hope to end their five-game losing run in the league when they host fifth-placed Liverpool on Monday.
(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Dominic Evans)