Arsenal Transfer Rumours: Gunners Shouldn't Go After Luis Suarez

After Arsenal's £30 million bid for dynamic striker Luis Suarez was rejected by Liverpool, Arsene Wenger has reportedly increased the offer to £35 million, according to ESPNFC.com.

John Cross of the Daily Mirror told the Transfer Tavern on Sunday that he believed a £22 million deal for Real Madrid's Gonzalo Higuain was being held up precisely because of Arsenal's interest in Suarez, via TalkSport.co.uk. 

It's a wonder why Wenger is going after Suarez in the first place.

Let's count the reasons why Higuain should be Arsensal's top target over Suarez, shall we?

First of all, there's that temperament of Suarez's. There was his alleged racial abuse of Manchester United's Patrice Evra in October 2011 that landed him an eight-game suspension and a £40,000 fine. Then there was the one-match ban for making an obscene gesture toward the Fulham fans in December 2011. And who can forget the 26-year-old actually biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic in April, resulting in a 10-game ban? 

But, even if you are prepared to pretend that Suarez will all of a sudden become a new man, the fact of the matter is, Higuain is more worthy of a hefty contract, on and off the pitch.

Consider this: Higuain notched 16 goals in 28 games (19 starts) for Madrid last season despite taking just 56 total shots. 

Suarez may have posted 23 goals in 33 games for Liverpool, but he did so while taking 187 shots.

Thus, Suarez scored a goal every 8.1 shots, while Higuain scored a goal every 3.5 shots.

Some will argue that Suarez was in a different situation and it's not fair to compare those stats and blah blah blah, but the truth is, Higuain is a more efficient and tactical scorer. Heck, in 10 World Cup qualifiers for Argentina this year, Higuain has scored seven goals...on 24 shots (3.4 shots per goal).

So, you see, while Suarez may have plenty of flash, Higuain simply gets the job done better. I'm not saying Suarez is a bad player by any means, but Higuain does outclass him. Add the fact that Higuain is a year younger, and it should be a no-brainer for Wenger.

In the end, perhaps Liverpool's stubbornness to keep Suarez may actually benefit Arsenal. The Gunners should have been focusing on Higuain this whole time.