George Walker
As Arsenal have failed miserably to tie up deals during yet another disappointing transfer window, it seems our manager’s eyes are fixed solely on one rather ambitious target, Luis Suarez. And although signing such a big-name player, who was the Premier League’s top scorer last season, undoubtedly seems a very attractive prospect to a fan base largely starved of marquee signings in recent years, there are many reasons for us to be cautious. So here are five reasons why I believe Arsenal should steer clear of the controversial Uruguayan.
1. He will be unable to make an immediate contribution.
Before we even begin to consider what actions could lead to Suarez being disciplined in future seasons, he is already set to miss the first six games of next season, serving the remainder of his ten-match ban for the disgraceful biting of Branislav Ivanovic. This means he is already set to miss nearly a sixth of the season, and will miss crucial time to bond with the rest of the team during the early stages of our campaign.
2. Liverpool’s asking price is too high.
It’s not that Arsenal are unable to afford the £50 million asking-price set by Liverpool. With their cash reserves believed to be around £190 million, they could afford the transfer fee with ease, but it doesn’t represent good value. Based on pure footballing ability, his would be a justifiable price tag for Suarez in the modern era, but when talking about Suarez, you have to look at other factors. £50 million is huge fee to play for a player who misses so many matches due to disciplinary issues. Also, the price is mainly based on his performance across just one season. Although Suarez’s quality is unquestionable, his goal-scoring record across his career has not always reached the heights of last season. For instance, in 2011-12, Suarez scored just 11 goals in 31 matches for Liverpool, and struggled with his composure in front of goal throughout the campaign. It was a similar story in 2010-11, with him scoring a combined total of just 11 goals again for Liverpool and Ajax. So in short, there is no guarantee that Suarez will always deliver 20+ goals a season - as you would expect from a £50 million signing (except one called Fernando Torres).
3. There may be better alternatives.
Although Arsène Wenger seems to have his heart set on capturing the signature of Suarez, he would be wise to compare this option with other possibilities. There are undoubtedly very good, proven top-level strikers available who would command a far smaller fee, and would be potentially far more reliable, as they would be unlikely to spend large chunks of their time banned or bringing the club into disrepute. However, it must be admitted that many of these potential signings have already been snapped by clubs that appear to be more savvy dealers in the transfer market. Gonzalo Higuain has gone to Napoli for £34.5m; Fernando Llorente was grabbed by Juventus on a free transfer; David Villa was signed by Atletico Madrid for just £4.4 million, and even our nearest and dearest from N17 got in on the act, tying up Roberto Soldado from Valencia for £26 million. I personally believe all these deals would have represented better value than a £50m move for Suarez, but there is a case that, now the best value deals have been done, Arsenal may have to stump up for Suarez, but I strongly believe that with a bit of thought, a better deal for a more reliable and significantly less controversial player could be struck.
4. He won’t change his ways.
At the age of 26, Suarez’s attitude is unlikely to alter much. He has already shown a total inability to learn from his mistakes and avoid major misdemeanours, which have dogged the Uruguayan throughout his career so far. At the age of just 15, Suarez was red-carded for head-butting a referee when playing for his native Nacional in Uruguay, an incident he has clearly failed to learn from. In fact, Suarez has even committed the exact same offence twice - he gained the nickname ‘the Cannibal of Ajax’ after drawing blood from the shoulder of PSV’s Ottman Bakkal, and followed this up by giving Ivanovic similar treatment three years later. So although we have seen that player’s attitudes can improve slightly over time - as has happened with Wayne Rooney - it is highly unlikely that Suarez will fall into this category, and he will almost certainly remain cannon-fodder for those looking to criticise him in the media. Even under the father-like stewardship of Arsène Wenger, who has nurtured so many players so effectively, Suarez’s ways seem too engrained for even Wenger to change him in the future.
5. Do we really want him representing The Arsenal?
Arsenal FC are a sporting institution that millions of us know, love and are, in most cases, very proud to support. As someone who has been totally disgusted by the behaviour and conduct of Luis Suarez since he has on these shores, I would find it an act of great hypocrisy, or even morally repulsive to sing the praises of a man I have ridiculed so frequently. As a club that prides itself on its history, tradition and core values, signing Luis Suarez would go against many of the principles that have been laid out throughout Arsenal’s history. As the banner that poked fun at Manchester City read, “You can’t buy class” - and in buying Suarez, Arsenal would definitely not be doing that. Suarez has already gone against many of Arsenal’s principles. Being involved in the racial abuse of Patrice Evra, he would severely contradict the past actions of the club. Back in 2009, the AISA even actively led an anti-racism campaign, in which posters reading ‘Gunners against racism’ were handed out for supporters to display. The club’s good record of anti-racism also goes back much further, with Arsenal always having one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse fan bases and playing staffs, with black players rightly being given the chance and supported by Arsenal, at times when institutional racism was still regularly rearing its ugly head in our game, and many non-white players were having to endure disgusting abuse from some sets of supporters. I have always been very proud to support a football club that has held these strong moral values on such issues and I believe that in signing Luis Suarez we would be partly relinquishing these values on a whim, all because of our desperation for a big-name signing, and that is not a trade-off I would personally be willing to make.
You also have to consider the unwanted and negative attention that Luis Suarez would bring to Arsenal. There is no doubt that his indiscretions would soon dominate all of Arsène Wenger’s press conferences to a nauseating extent, and that our manager would constantly be having to fend off media probes into his behaviour. As a lover of football, I would rather that the media coverage of our club focused on our exploits on the field, not the actions of one man off it. It would simply make me cringe uncomfortably to see my beloved club having to resolutely defend the repulsive actions of Suarez as Liverpool did last season, devoting more time to their PR team and disciplinary hearings than sorting out shortcomings on the field.
However, I must state that part of me is greatly encouraged by our ambitious and valiant pursuit of such an established star. It is indeed high time that Arsenal opened the chequebook and signed players of Suarez’s quality, and as the club have bid £40 million for his services, it seems we may finally have opted to splash the cash on big signings, which can only serve to improve our chances of competing for silverware. But, for the reasons I have stated at length above, despite not opposing big-money signings, I simply believe that Suarez is the wrong man, at the wrong price, for the wrong club. And I have a bad feeling that if we do spend the £50 million that Liverpool are requesting for his services, it may be a move that we come to regret.
