Jamie Vardy said it was an easy decision to reject Arsenal to remain with Leicester City on an improved contract.

Arsenal had triggered the £22 million release clause in Vardy's contract with Leicester City.

“I was in a hotel room [in Chantilly] for so many hours of every day with nothing to do. 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 at Leicester, which is why I made my decision to stay.

“There were loads of reasons. 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, though, both head and heart were saying ‘you need to stay’. I could see people’s point when they assumed I would go, but, deep down, if you don’t think it’s right for you, you don’t do it. It’s as simple as that.

“In my professional life, it was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make, but I haven’t been a professional for that long. It was hard, but it was actually an easy decision to make.”