How Adding Luis Suarez Would Change Arsenal Tactically

Arsenal managing to add star striker Luis Suarez would have little impact on the club's playing tactics, but would represent a major shift in their transfer strategy.

Arsenal's supposed interest in Suarez refuses to go away. Fresh reports from John Cross of The Daily Mirror suggest the Gunners will soon bid £35 million to fend off interest from Chelsea and Manchester City.

From a spending perspective, that would signal a seismic shift in policy from traditionally cautious manager Arsene Wenger. The Frenchman has become notorious for the stringent personal valuations he applies to targets during transfer windows.

But adding Suarez would not simply signal an end to Wenger's reputed fiscal caution. It would also see a move away from prioritizing promising youngsters and dependable veterans in the market.

Wenger's usual transfer pattern has involved targeting talented youths ready to be developed into legitimate stars. There is a deep irony at the heart of this policy.

It is at once a risky and a conservative approach. Because little is usually invested in these fledgling performers, not much is often expected.

If any youngster signed by Wenger for a nominal fee emerges as a genuine top-level ace, that is a bonus. The risk comes from attempting to compete against mega-rich squads comprised of marquee names with a team littered with potential, but not realized talent.

In recent seasons, Wenger has modified this approach. But even when he has opted for more experienced options, the Arsenal chief has played it safe.

He has invested in solid citizens, rather than mavericks who can deliver all or nothing. The likes of Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski are all dependable, but not spectacular contributors.

Those players will keep a club stable, but are not enough on their own to win the major prizes. Some mercurial talent must be added alongside the reliable types to mix things up.

That is where Suarez would fit perfectly. Making such a large investment in a player carrying the risks the controversial Uruguayan does, would be a major gamble from Wenger.

In fact, the catalogue of disciplinary incidents that have blighted Suarez, including the 10-match suspension for biting, make him the ultimate gamble.

Usually when a team pays a fee like £35 or even £40 million, they are making the investment for guaranteed results. A character as volatile as Suarez is anything but a guarantee.

By staking so much of Arsenal's money and his own reputation on Suarez avoiding trouble, Wenger would be taking the biggest gamble his career.

Despite how risky it sounds, from a playing perspective, Suarez makes perfect sense for the Gunners. Suarez is a better option for Arsenal than Gonzalo Higuain, Stevan Jovetic, or Wayne Rooney. Higuain would certainly be a nice consolation prize, but Suarez is the ultimate fit.

The 26-year-old is exactly what Wenger craves for his flexible 4-2-3-1 formation. Suarez is less a natural No. 9 and more a free-roaming, creative central striker.

That is what Wenger had in Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie, and that is what he needs now. Suarez has proven that he can manufacture scoring chances and provide the same for fellow attackers from multiple angles.

His quick and scuttling style is tailor-made for the between-the-lines style of passing Wenger emphasizes. Suarez is at his best darting in between defenders and pouncing on threaded through passes.

He has been bred on the expansive, pass-and-move brand of football Wenger's teams are known for. Suarez thrived thanks to that style of play at Ajax, and Liverpool's move to a more attractive, passing way of playing helped him flourish last season.

Arsenal still play that way and, at their best, do it as well as any other team in the game. Even with a towering target man like Olivier Giroud leading the line last season, Arsenal's style stayed the same.

The problem was Giroud was not always quick enough and certainly not composed enough to finish off intricate passing moves with a flourish. Suarez would have no such problems, as one of the most intelligent finishers in world football.

Arsenal would lose an element of their aerial threat with Suarez replacing Giroud, but that is obvious. Yes, Giroud provides power in the air, but it is not as if Arsenal geared their play to maximize it last season.

The Gunners did not bombard the opposition with crosses and high balls aiming for Giroud. Instead, they often relied on the ex-Montpellier star to use his strength and touch to create chances for others.

This was something Giroud did very well at various times during the last campaign. It again emphasized Wenger's desire for a creator to lead his forward line rather than a natural spearhead.

Indeed, adding Suarez would not necessarily condemn Giroud to life on the bench. When Liverpool drew 2-2 at the Emirates in January, Suarez was a constant threat from the left side of a front three.

His industry nullified the forward runs of Arsenal right-back Bacary Sagna, while his ability to drift off the flank posed problems all night.

Imagine an Arsenal forward trio combining the trickery and devilish movement of Suarez, along with the direct pace of Theo Walcott and the robust frame of Giroud.

Suarez would give Wenger that kind of flexibility in attack. He is an ideal fit for the way the French tactician loves the game to be played.

Nobody disputes that spending big on Suarez is a major gamble. But it might just be a tactical risk Wenger should take.