Arsene Wenger revealed ‘ludicrous’ truth behind Arsenal’s failed bid to sign Luis Suarez

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Arsenal take on Liverpool at Anfield looking to cement their place in the top five of the Premier League.

Mikel Arteta’s side know that victory over Liverpool would guarantee a top five finish in the Premier League and secure automatic qualification for next season’s Champions League.

The Gunners have been embroiled in a battle with Liverpool all season, Virgil Van Dijk played down Arsenal’s injury troubles this season when the two sides clashed at the Emirates Stadium.

However, this is not the first time tensions have been high between the two clubs, back in 2014 Arsenal tried to sign Luis Suarez from the Merseyside club and Arsene Wenger revealed the truth behind the bizarre deal.

READ MORE: Arsenal should use Mikel Arteta’s forgotten man to land transfer target Pep Guardiola wants

Arsene Wenger revealed truth behind ‘ludicrous’ Luis Suarez bid

As per The Independent back in 2020, Wenger revealed in his book ‘My life in Red and White’ that Arsenal were misled by Suarez’s agent at the time into believing that the Liverpool forward had a £40m release clause.

The Gunners bid £40m plus £1 for the Uruguayan star causing much amusement and disbelief across the footballing world.

Wenger explained: “In 2014 [the 2013/14 season] we were looking to get Luis Suarez over, We had an agreement with the player and his agent. But the agent claimed that there was a clause: with an offer above £40million, Liverpool would be obliged to let the player go.

“But thanks to an indiscretion within Liverpool, I found out that his clause never existed. To check this was true, we offered £40,000,001.

“This may have seemed ludicrous, I admit. But Liverpool did not want to sell Suarez, they could afford to keep him and there was already an offer from Barca on the horizon.”

Luis Suarez’s career shows Arsenal missed out on a star

The Gunners have had plenty of near misses in the transfer market over the years, Cristiano Ronaldo was in talks with Arsenal before moving to Manchester United.

Arsene Wenger failed to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic despite having the striker at the training ground when he was a youngster and Suarez just adds to the list.

Suarez scored goals wherever he went in his career and would have played alongside the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez under Wenger.

That sort of front line would have been a match for anybody in world football and if Suarez had joined the Emirates Stadium, chances are the Gunners would not be waiting 21 years for their next Premier League title.