Arsenal Switch Interest Towards £40m Star As Suarez Hopes Fades Away?

Arsenal’s hopes of getting Luis Suarez from Liverpool have somewhat been dealt with a blow after the reluctance of the Merseyside club to sell their star man. Now it has again been bashed by the Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Gordon Taylor.

Taylor has claimed that it is almost impossible for Arsenal to capture Suarez before the deadline day and that they should look elsewhere for a replacement.

“With the transfer window expiring, the difficulties of not only selling him to a competitor but also replacing him makes it practically impossible,” is what Taylor had to say regarding the whole saga. Earlier Liverpool owner John Henry stated that it would be “ludicrous” for the club to sell Suarez off to a rival club.

Arsenal had really wanted a striker this season and after failing to capture some of their previous targets, Suarez remained as their only big hope. But as of things stand now, it will be extremely difficult for the Gunners to land the prolific Uruguayan. They had earlier made a bid of £40m and when it was turned down, they upped that bid by a single pound. It was later revealed that Suarez’s contract states that the club is not bound to sell him if a bid arrives exceeding the amount of £40m, as claimed by Suarez’s agents.

Although nothing can be said with certainty, but still with each passing day the supporter’s hopes of watching Suarez in an Arsenal outfit are getting dimmer.

Liverpool’s owner John Henry, talking about Suarez’ saga said:

“We are not going to sell Luis. It’s a football reason, it’s not about finances,” Henry said. It’s because at this point it’s impossible, so late in the window, with everyone who’s already moved or isn’t moving, to replace him. So for football reasons, we can’t – and especially to Arsenal.

“For all the top clubs it’s extremely important but especially Liverpool because we’re not in Europe this year and have not been in the Champions League for a while. Obviously, to sell to a rival for one of those positions would be ludicrous.”

While that is on one side, Telegraph now reports that Arsenal are back in for United‘s Wayne Rooney and are prepared to match their valuation of £40 million. Quotes from Telegraph say:

Chelsea have had two bids turned down but there is also now competing interest from Arsenal, whose chances of buying Luis Suárez from Liverpool are in serious doubt. There is a theory that United could yet prefer to deal with Arsenal rather than Chelsea as they are regarded as less of a direct rival for the Premier League title.

In other news, Ligue 1 side Lyon have expressed their interest in former Arsenal player Jeremie Aliadiere who now plies his trade for Lorient. He had a successful last season for his club scoring 15 league goals. The 30 year old star has had previous spells with Arsenal, West Ham, Wolves and Middlesbrough.

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has admitted that he would like to see the player at the club, given the right price. Recently he has stated “At this £6m price, we do not even consider it – the price of the transfer is between £2.5m and £3.5m at most”.