Arsenal Transfer News: Picture Looking Bleak After Luis Suarez Development

Arsenal reportedly submitted an offer of £40 million plus one pound for Liverpool striker Luis Suarez recently, thinking that it would trigger a release clause in the 26-year-old's contract, according to David Maddock of the Mirror.

The problem is, Liverpool is saying that there was no such release clause in Suarez's contract, and Suarez has thus stopped short of approaching the Premier League for arbitration, per the report.

Arsene Wenger and company are now faced with potentially needing to pay £55 million for the Reds to even consider sending the coveted striker. In fact, Maddock writes that the only way Suarez may leave Anfield now is if he departs for a foreign club outside of England.

What a mess.

This could end up being a brutal finish to the transfer window for Wenger. First, Arsenal made it clear that the Frenchman would have the money to buy a top-flight player this summer, putting pressure on the 63-year-old right from the start. He then missed out on talented striker Gonzalo Higuain, who moved from Real Madrid to Napoli. The club may now miss out on Suarez as well.

In the end, the Gunners appeared to have a chance to acquire a player in Higuain who posted 16 goals with just 56 shots in La Liga last season (by comparison, Suarez notched 23 goals with 187 shots in the EPL).

Instead, they opted not to spend £34.5 million on the Argentinian, while apparently turning their attention to Suarez. Now, even if they do acquire the Liverpool striker, they will likely have to spend at least £55 million on him. Suarez may be a fantastic player, but it's hard to say he's worth £20 million more than Higuain, especially given his temperament on the pitch at times.

Arsenal made a gamble when it honed in on Suarez this summer, knowing full well that Liverpool wasn't exactly that keen on selling the star striker.

The Gunners now find themselves experiencing backlash from fans (once again)—in the form of Twitter, no less.

Arsenal tweeted this on Tuesday:

Here's an outline of what the general response was to the question:

It's obvious that Arsenal has been trying to make a big splash this summer, and while Wenger has become known for being conservative in the transfer market, he may have actually been too bold on this occasion—apparently making it "Suarez or bust" instead of possibly landing a very talented player in Higuain.

Sometimes it feels as if Wenger simply cannot win.

Which one word could likely describe his mood right now?

"Desperate."