Arsenal Transfer Rumours: Gunners' Desperation to Sign Luis Suarez Is Clear

It's getting down to crunch time for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger if he wants to add a top-flight player this summer.

After a bid of £40 million plus one pound for Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was rejected, Arsenal is reportedly prepared to raise its offer for the third time, according to David Hytner and Andy Hunter of the Guardian. 

All this, for a player who bit an opponent in April.

Don't get me wrong, Suarez is an extremely talented player. He notched 23 goals and five assists in 33 starts for Liverpool last season. He drew a rating of 7.89 from WhoScored.com, sixth among all players in the Premier League, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Serie A and La Liga.

But the fact that Arsenal continues to pursue the 26-year-old despite Liverpool rejecting its high bid shows the pressure Wenger must be feeling right about now.

On Friday, Wenger told reporters in Saitama, Japan that Arsenal was "not close" to signing Suarez from Liverpool, according to Kevin Palmer of ESPN FC.

He also said, via the report, "With or without additions we can be title challengers next season. We try to do the job and we will try to do it well, but nothing has been concluded with anybody."

I don't buy that Wenger will be just fine if he doesn't add a big name this summer. Arsenal was adamant that it would have the money to spend on a top-notch player this summer, and it was largely expected (or at least hoped) that the club would be able to bring in a high-impact name. 

Now that Arsenal has whiffed on Gonzalo Higuain and is finding it difficult to land Suarez, it's only natural that Wenger would attempt to do some damage control by easing the minds of Arsenal's fanbase.

Make no mistake about it, if Arsenal doesn't land Suarez, Wenger may never hear the end of it, especially when it appeared the Gunners would land Higuain this summer, only for it not to be so.

The fact of the matter is, all things considered, Suarez is not a player worth close to £50 million right now. He's proved to be volatile on the pitch, and you can't expect him to have a completely clean campaign next season.

But that doesn't matter to Arsenal. The club is desperate to add someone the fanbase can be excited about and has the potential to lead the Gunners to an EPL title. And Liverpool knows this. Hence the high price tag on Suarez.

The question is, is it worse to overpay for a player and him not live up to his contract, or stay conservative and receive heat from the fanbase?

The way things are going, it's pretty obvious Arsenal thinks the latter.