It seems an age ago, at the start of July, that a fanciful article was penned commenting on the closure of English bookmaker William Hill’s market on Luis Suarez’s next move following a flurry of bets placed in Barcelona on him joining Arsenal. With the month drawing to a close and the Premier League season edging nearer, Suarez seems set on a move to the Gunners – the stumbling block remains as ever the transfer fee itself.
Suddenly the pieces fit together in what seemed a far-fetched link. Suarez’s agent is of course Pere Guardiola, brother of Pep, who has more than something to do with Barcelona (and who are presumably not too keen on Real Madrid). And why would Arsenal abandon interest so suddenly in a forward of the calibre of Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain, whom they had agreed terms with and who has since joined Napoli, for a player linked with the same Spanish giants? Surely Real Madrid would simply gazump Arsenal?
Then again, the fact that Arsenal continued to bid for Suarez suggested that either the Gunners’ hierarchy were extremely foolish, or knew something few were privy to, perhaps bar a collection of individuals in Barcelona with betting slips. It is conceivable yet that Pere Guardiola is intentionally pushing Suarez towards Arsenal to manoeuvre him into a team where the Uruguay international could then make a future move to his brother’s club Bayern Munich.
If Suarez does make the move south, he will come in for a storm of criticism, and rightly so. The Uruguayan has become one of the most controversial characters in the Premier League cast, having been suspended for eight games two seasons ago for alleged racist abuse, and currently serving a ten-game ban for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic. The irony is that when Suarez complained about his treatment at the hands of the English press, hinting at a move abroad, he had a fair point – it is true that he has been treated by a different standard to most other players; John Terry is the most obvious example – he served half the suspension Suarez did for alleged racist abuse and his case appeared from the outside at least to be more sinister. And for all Suarez’s indiscretions on the pitch, when has he ever misbehaved off it, in the way that Liverpool’s English captain and hero Steven Gerrard did, when he was involved in a bar brawl (albeit cleared of affray)?
But Liverpool’s staff and fans have given Suarez solid support throughout and they will rightly feel aggrieved at prospect of the Uruguayan trying to force a move away now. This is a club on the verge of developing into a really exciting unit under Brendan Rodgers, who have earned the right to expect loyalty from Suarez. To proclaim a desire to leave because of the English press only to then move to not just another Premier League side, but a serious rival for a top four place, would be the ultimate kick in the teeth.
Should it happen, Liverpool can recover in football terms. Arsenal lost Thierry Henry and Manchester United sold Cristiano Ronaldo without the quality of either side’s play dropping. There is the inevitable loss of an individual capable of winning a game on his own, but the team grows collectively as others are forced to step up and take responsibility. Liverpool, so often profligate in the transfer market, have bought more sensibly under Rodgers, with Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge exciting players going forward. If they were able to bring in a striker of the quality of Roberto Soldado and a creative midfielder like Christian Eriksen, there is a way the Anfield club can come out of this stronger.
From Arsenal’s perspective the signing of Suarez would be significant for two main reasons. For one it would smash their transfer record, quite possibly three times over. After years of saying they can spend big, it appears they finally will. And Arsenal have not signed a player of the stature of Suarez since Dennis Bergkamp walked through the door under Bruce Rioch in 1995. On the pitch, he would add fantasy and match winning quality to what is an uncharacteristically unspectacular team. Arsene Wenger’s class of 2012/13 were surprisingly solid at times, finishing with the Premier League’s second best defensive record, and they shared the goals around well. But they lacked a player who could turn a game on his own when things were going wrong, or who could single-handedly find a way of carving open the best of defences. Suarez would give them that quality – and his ferocious fighting spirit is invaluable.
One of Suarez’s weaknesses is one of Arsenal’s though – at times both are profligate in front of goal. But with Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla buzzing around behind him, it is hard to imagine Suarez not having so many chances that his profligacy would become an irrelevance.
Still, there is a long way to run in this saga. Arsenal must meet Liverpool’s demands financially and it is hard to dispute Rodgers’ insistence that the player is worth as much as Edinson Cavani, signed by Paris Saint-Germain for £55m. And he is certainly worth more than the £50m Liverpool collected for Fernando Torres two years ago. Given Wenger’s obsession with getting value for money, this transfer is not the inevitability it may be if it was another big club involved. But when the rumour first broke, it did seem to be one of those stories that was so implausible that it could only possibly become reality.
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