Arsene Wenger gave little away when discussing the summer’s Luis Suarez transfer antics and remained coy over any future bid for the in-form Uruguay intentional.
Arsenal saw a £40m + £1 bid rejected over the summer window by their fellow Premier League rivals, as the Gunners were led to believe breaching the £40m mark would activate a buy-out clause in his contract.
Much confusion surrounded the situation, with Wenger essentially pulling out of negotiations for Gonzalo Higuain in order to pursue Suarez who almost won the golden boot last season had it not been for his biting incident.
Ahead of Arsenal’s blockbuster home tie against Liverpool this Saturday, the Frenchman responded to questions of a renewed bid this January:
I am not focused on that now, 24 hours before this game.
You [the media] made it [Suarez bids] public. I didn’t make anything public. Look, he plays for Liverpool and at the moment he is doing very well. What is important for me is players who play for Arsenal and not those who could play for Arsenal. What is important is the players who will play against Luis Suarez.
Suarez’s troubles are well documented, not only was he handed a 10-match suspension for biting Ivanovic last season, he’s landed himself in hot water over racist comments before not to mention a prior biting incident in the Netherlands (he was labelled the Cannibal of Ajax).
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The Frenchman was also quizzed on how he felt in regards to bidding for a player with the striker’s disciplinary record. He continued:
We have high moral ground and of course we take information about the moral level of the players and when there are any restrictions, we do not buy the players. That is a debate I won’t go into now. It’s not the right place before the game to speak about it.
The details of all that [Suarez bids] will maybe come out one day. Maybe not in my book. In somebody else’s book.
While Suarez boasts six goals in his four Premier League appearances this season, and partnered with Daniel Sturridge up front, Liverpool have a very dangerous partnership at their disposal. But Arsenal also have their own in-form hitman.
Olivier Giroud has stepped it up this season and so far has bagged eight goals in all competitions. Wenger praised his compatriot, who did not let the transfer rumours get to him in the summer and instead focused on improving his own game.
Wenger added:
Giroud has proven since the start of the season that he is tremendous striker and I’m sure he will be up for showing that [against Liverpool].
Giroud is a real centre-forward who uses his space, uses his power. He is really central. Suarez is a player who goes on the flanks, who drops into midfield and he is really a dribbler.
Suarez heads to north London off the back of an emphatic hattrick against West Brom last weekend, and will be looking to break down what has sometimes been a leaky Arsenal defence. The Gunners have a real task on their hands keeping Suarridge at bay, however they are more than capable of doing so.
As for returning with a January bid? It seems highly unlikely he would leave especially if Liverpool maintain their form. He wants Champions League football and if the Merseyside club can offer him that next season then he will stay behind. It is a shame however as he is possibly only one of the few top class strikers around that would be eligible to play in Europe’s elite competition for the Gunners this season.
But any-who, let’s smash Liverpool…
COYG!
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