Gary Lineker thinks Arsenal once had an ‘unbelievable’ player who was ‘very much like Jamie Vardy’

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Arsenal have had a number of truly incredible players at the club over the years.

The Gunners are one of the most successful teams in the history of English football, and they have produced and signed a few remarkable footballers.

All the great Arsenal players were known for their ability on the pitch, but some of them were also good at what people describe as the dark arts of the game.

Jamie Vardy is arguably the master of that, but Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer claim that Arsenal once had a player just like him.

Gary Lineker explains how Ian Wright was similar to Jamie Vardy at Arsenal

Ian Wright is one of the greatest players to ever play for Arsenal.

The Englishman scored more goals for the club than anyone else apart from Thierry Henry, and he is well and truly an Arsenal legend.

Wright was an elite goalscorer. His movement up top was fabulous and that always made him a nightmare to defend against. To add to that, the former Crystal Palace man was deadly in front of goal too.

Those factors alone made Wright a great player, but there is one other thing he did every single game – he got under the opponents’ skin.

Wright used to wind up almost every player he played against, and more often than not, it worked in his favour and he made them look silly on the pitch.

Lineker and Shearer know Wright very well, and the two pundits have compared the Arsenal legend to Leicester City star Vardy.

While talking about the biggest wind-up merchants in the game, the trio on the Rest is Football podcast brought Vardy’s name up.

Shearer then said: “Wrighty was good at that, in a good way, wasn’t he, when he was playing?”

Lineker quickly replied: “Oh, Wrighty was unbelievable. He was very much like Jamie Vardy, wasn’t he, Wrighty?

“In so many ways, actually, because he came to the game, professional game, very late as well, you know, in his mid-twenties and a similar sort of story to Jamie Vardy’s and two great goal scorers as well, but proper s—house merchants.”

Listen to The Rest Is Football wherever you get your podcasts.

READ MORE: Ian Wright says Arsene Wenger selling one Arsenal player was so ‘devastating’ it was a ‘dagger’

Arsenal have a similar player now to Wright and Vardy

Arsenal definitely need a goalscorer in one of the next two windows, and someone like Wright or Vardy in their prime would be a great option.

The Gunners don’t have that at the moment, but they definitely do have a wind-up merchant who would make both Wright and Vardy proud – Ben White.

The Englishman is an absolute fan favourite at Arsenal, not just because he is a world-class defender but also because of some of his antics to get under opposition players’ skin.

Only recently, Arsenal fans loved how White smashed the ball into John McGinn after the Aston Villa midfielder did the same to William Saliba.

White may not be as vocal as Vardy and Wright were, but he’s definitely becoming one of the biggest wind-up merchants in the game. That’s why Arsenal fans love him!