Suarez admits wanting to join Arsenal from Liverpool previously

Luis Suarez has admitted that he wanted to leave Liverpool to join Arsenal back in 2013, before he ended up staying put.

The striker was widely reported to have been close to a switch to north London, with some claims that Arsenal failed to meet his release clause by £1 at the time, but Arsene Wenger later claimed in his autobiography that the clause was later revealed not to have existed.

The player himself now admits that he had wanted to make the switch from Anfield to the Emirates back in 2013, having grown frustrated with his side’s failure to qualify for the Champions League.

“I think I’d been at Liverpool for a year and a half when Brendan took charge in July 2012,” Suarez told UEFA.

“Back then, I had opportunities to sign for other clubs who were getting in contact with me, but he phoned me when I was in Uruguay on holiday, to tell me that he had another way of thinking, that he wanted to change the club and its philosophy, that he wanted the club to get back in the Champions League and fight to win big trophies, that he was going to make the team play great football.

“He asked me to believe and trust him. I enjoyed that chat. I liked his conviction, the philosophy he wanted to implement at the club, so I talked to my agent and the club to say that I didn’t want to leave, that I wanted another opportunity to be successful at Liverpool.

“That year wasn’t as good as we wanted, but ideas were already pretty clear. So then the 2012/13 season goes by, and I wanted to sign for Arsenal, since Arsenal had played in the Champions League every season prior to that.”

I can’t help but believe that Arsenal would have mounted a serious title challenge with Suarez in our side at that time, knowing that he was amongst the best natural goalscorers at the time and retains such ability since, even now at the age of 34.

It seems crazy now to believe that we had an agreement in place with one of the best strikers of the current era, with the player and his agent wanting to make the switch happen, but you can imagine how strong he could have made us…

Patrick

Tags Luis Suarez

21 Comments

  1. From what i understand is, we met everything possible and if we had pushed, we would have got him but Liverpool lied and called our bluff. It would have got messy through courts and what have you but we would have won but ultimately we didn’t. Liverpool held their ground and kept their player, even getting Gerrard to talk him out of it. Wenger was probably too nice and too honest.

  2. There was no release clause as Wenger stated in his book, but there was a clause in his contract that stated he must be informed if anyone put in a bid for him over £40 million, that’s why Arsenal bid that figure plus £1.

    1. Liverpool denied and refused us the right to talk to him, legally we were right, Liverpool were wrong but we just let it go because it would have got messy.

      1. Of course, Reggie, the club might have felt that the offer made was sufficient and didn’t want to go higher?
        At least we can stop blaming AW for this one, can’t we?

          1. Yeah, Arsenal should’ve pushed harder. Also though, I can see how the offer was just disrespectful. What could’ve been but the club sort of allowed themselves to be pushed around a lot in the transfer market then.

            1. RSH, it was made to look disrespectful by Liverpool but the truth is it was exactly what was needed to trigger the clause. Liverpool were pi##ed because Arsenal (probably due to Suarez agent) found that out.

      2. Reggie, we had no legal right to talk to him as there was no release clause. As I explained above the clause was a necessity for Liverpool to let him know there had been a bid of £40 million. It was not a release clause.

          1. Declan, pool have admitted they were in the wrong over this and ensured our club never had a chance to speak with Suarez.
            AW has said how he wanted the player, so how that can be misconstrued is yet another mystery.
            Pool would not have sold him to ANY PL club in my opinion.
            Its refreshing to read how the player deemed our club to be able to give him the success he was looking for rather than pool.
            THAT was why he wanted to join us.

        1. We had a right to discuss a transfer with Suarez, Liverpool denied everything. I Never mentioned a release clause, there was a clause that gave us the right to discuss with Suarez a move to Arsenal and all that was needed was over 40 mil. Liverpool had a contractual right to let us talk with him, the denied us, which was illegal.

  3. Does anyone really think Wenger wanted this oft-times problematic individual with a history of serial biting and race rows?

    this was the exact sort of player this club desperately needed, from a playing style perspective only, yet conversely the exact kind of player Wenger avoided at all costs, especially during his latter tenure when he packed his house with “yes” men and those who were least likely to ruffle his feathers

    this was nothing more than another “wag the dog” moment in time that was meant to add credence to the entirely misplaced notion that we were doing anything and everything in order to compete for football’s highest honours

    if Wenger really wanted to acquire his services a bid of anything over 50 would have both brought Pool to the table and made perfect financial sense, considering market trends, even if he only stayed at the Emirates for a 2-3 year term

    1. TRVL, im not saying you are wrong, there may be something in what you are saying but Arsenal were given the green light by Suarez and his agent. We probably thought we could get him for 40MIL +£1 but i dont think Liverpool wanted him at a rival at any cost and they played hard and dirty and got what they wanted.

      1. I can totally see the possibility that others within the club’s hierarchy, specifically Gazidis, wanted to secure Suarez’s services, but to think, even for a moment, that Wenger actually wanted to make a player who had just had his second biting incident, just months earlier, the centerpiece of his team, is a bridge too far for me

        now some might want to make comparisons with Wenger’s pursuit of Sanchez, in that both were exceedingly fiery and determined characters on the pitch, but Alexis was a baggage-free acquisition, minus his desire to be a starting player of some consequence on a team with historical significance

  4. Never Quite got over the Ignoble role played by Steven Gerrard, Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool as a Club over Luis Suarez 2013 saga!
    They acted like devils!
    As if Arsenal didn’t have a right to bid for a Player!..😕
    As for Stevie G, felt he got the Perfect Karma@the end of the 2013/2014 season!
    As Captain,
    *Slipped at Anfield against Chelsea and lost the EPL title.
    *Crashed out of Group stage with England at the W/cup in Brazil.
    *Crashed out of Group stage with Liverpool in the 2014/2015 UCL season!
    He got Fully served!😏

    1. yup, something about the company liverpool keeps rubs me the wrong way. even when they weren’t good was never a fan of their players. a holier-than-thou mentality runs deep through that club.

  5. It seems only I have noticed that this article and subsequent debate is just another “what if” scenario.
    As such, it is essentially, and esp after all this time , POINTLESS!

    I can reveal it never happened and never will, so why discuss it!!

    1. But it did happen Jon.
      The Arsenal put in a bid for Suarez and pool turned it down.
      We returned with another bid that was laughed out of court by their owners…. remember the jibe about what are they smoking down there?
      As for being “pointless”…. it’s part of the history of our club and some of us want to debate it.

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