Arsene Wenger Says Luis Suarez Wanted to Join Arsenal from Liverpool in 2013

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed he is "convinced" Luis Suarez was keen to move to the Emirates Stadium from Liverpool in 2013.

The Uruguay international was the subject of a bid for £40 million and £1 from the Gunners, with a clause in the player's contract allowing him to talk to the north London club consequently triggered. However, Liverpool dug their heels in, keeping the player for another season before he joined Barcelona.

"It was very close," Wenger told beIN Sports (h/t Mattias Karen of ESPN). He continued:

"

We had an agreement with the player. We had been wrongly advised that he had a clause, you know, with a minimum [price]. But we had an agreement with the player. You can ask him. I'm convinced that he wanted to join us. And then they kept him for one more year, they improved his contract and promised to sell him a year later to a club abroad.

"

As we can see here, courtesy of the BBC's Neil Henderson, Suarez made his intentions clear to the Guardian's Sid Lowe that he wanted out of Anfield:

However, Liverpool stood firm, with the club's owner, John W. Henry, taking to social media after the aforementioned bid to say (h/t Ian McCourt of the Guardian): "What do you think they're smoking over there at Emirates?"

Suarez went on to have the season of his life, inspiring a Liverpool title push with a string of sensational displays. The team came up just short, with poor results against Chelsea and Crystal Palace toward the end of the campaign opening the door for Manchester City, who went on to finish top.

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This graphic from WhoScored.com summed up just how impressive Suarez was that year, putting together one of the finest individual campaigns the Premier League has ever seen:

For Arsenal, not getting the striker was obviously a huge miss. While he's been involved in controversies—he was serving a 10-game ban for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic at the time of Arsenal's offer—Suarez has proved himself to be a tremendous footballer.

Since leaving Liverpool, he's continued to improve at the Camp Nou, making one of the finest attacks in world football even better. Suarez, alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar, has helped fire Barca to two La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey crowns and the UEFA Champions League.

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Per Squawka Football, only two giants of this generation have been more prolific than the 30-year-old over the past five years:

Arsenal's search for a centre-forward since their pursuit of Suarez has never been completed. Indeed, it's only this season that the Gunners have had a world-class option in the position, moving Alexis Sanchez in off the flank to lead the line.

Even so, the Chilean doesn't quite measure up to Suarez. The Uruguayan's ferocity, intelligence and will to win could have given Arsenal the crucial boost they still require in pursuit of the game's top honours.