KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum Ian Wright - Suarez should pick Liverpool over Arsenal

Luis Suarez should pick Liverpool above Arsenal, says Ian Wright

By David Ornstein
BBC Sport
Luis Suarez should stay at Liverpool and turn down the chance to move to Arsenal, according to former Gunners striker Ian Wright.
Liverpool have rejected two offers from Arsenal for the 26-year-old, who wants to play Champions League football.
"I'd welcome him at Arsenal with open arms," Wright told BBC Sport.
"But if I was Suarez, when you look at everything, it does seem strange he would want to go to Arsenal. I would give Liverpool another season."
The Uruguay striker has spoken of his desire to leave Anfield despite only signing a new long-term contract in August 2012.
He believes Arsenal's latest offer of £40m plus £1 triggered a clause in his contract that allows him to speak to suitors, but Liverpool dispute this and have no intention of selling until a £50m-plus valuation is met.

While Liverpool have not played in the Champions League since 2009, Arsenal will feature in the competition for a 17th consecutive season this year.
Reds captain Steven Gerrard ranks the Gunners among his side's rivals for a top-four finish and has questioned the sense in letting them recruit Suarez, who scored 30 goals in 44 games last season.
"Gerrard is not someone who comes out and says things flippantly," said Wright, who scored 185 goals in 288 appearances for Arsenal and will co-host BBC Radio 5 live's football phone-in show 606 on Sundays with Kelly Cates from next season.
"If you look at Arsenal - not won anything in eight years, just challenging for fourth place, not really any players there who will make him say 'I'm going to play with him and him' - Gerrard has got a point."
Suarez is banned for the first six domestic matches of the new season as he completes a 10-game ban for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic.
He was also suspended in 2011 after being found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has reminded Suarez of the debt he feels the player owes the fans after two seasons of controversy - but Wright says this is the only reason Arsenal stand a chance of getting him.
"Suarez is a world-class striker and if he didn't have all the baggage around him, I feel the Barcelonas, Real Madrids and Bayern Munichs would be sniffing around," said the ex-England international.
"That's why I believe Arsenal should try to bring him in - because I feel it's the only time they could get someone like that. In another market, I don't think he'd even look at Arsenal."

Arsenal's only summer signing to date is the free transfer of 20-year-old French forward Yaya Sanogo from Auxerre, and Wright thinks that even if they bring in Suarez, more big names need to follow.
"We need to see something I've not seen Arsenal do for many years and that is compete to sign players that Manchester United would want, that Manchester City would want and that Chelsea would want," he said.
"But they're running out of time and I don't think, at the moment, they've got the ability to attract those players because they haven't won anything in such a long time. This is why Arsenal are in serious trouble right now.
"I would like to see them go as far as they can to get Suarez, but they can't just buy him and not replenish the rest of the team. I think they need a goalkeeper, two centre-halves, two full-backs - for both left-back and right-back positions - another midfielder and two strikers.
"It doesn't make sense buying Suarez for that money and not backing it up with other signings of the same stature."

I think he's spot on. Arsenal haven't shown much more ambition than us in recent times what with selling all their best players and not replacing them. I still don't think he wants to go there and was using it as an i'm not going to wait forever to RM so they make a bid.

Aresnal are in the champions league have a new ground almost paid for and are a club potentially about to take off. They could dominate along with city over next 5 years.

All FSG are doing is tidying up the books and showing no ambition at all even the redevelopment of anfield has not started again an unambittious project which will lock the club forever in second best status.

If I was a foreign mercenary I would choose arsenal and its nonsense to say they are no better than LFC.

Ok.

and how exactly did Arsenal get to the point they are at today? DId they not also sart by cleaning the books, restructuring how the club operates, moving 1 step at a time?

Marko they had good management (David dein) and they invested in a new ground went into debt to buy it gambled on being in the champions league to pay it off. And the gamble paid off. I have been in business many years you have to take a chance invest and risk that investment for reward. That's what arsenal did 15 years ago and they are absolutely light years ahead of Liverpool.

All FSG are doing is housekeeping on day to day expenditure which is fine but it won't take the club forward

But if it's about ambition to win things then why Arsenal. You say they're about to take off but has that not been the case for the last 10 years? And the last few years has been scraping into the ECL.

I can't argue that the ground about the ground and them being in the ECL but I wouldn't say they are particularly ambitious. Why sell all your best players or maybe a better question, why did they all want to leave?

[quote][/quote]

Arsenal talking about new backers new ground almost paid for and in London where corporate etc bigger. Liverpool, are a minnow now compared to them or will be next few years

Arsenal's future is much clearer strategised at this moment in time. I for one would like to just voice my annoyance that 90% of the reasons behind it are to do with:

1- retaining a top manager (which I think most would agree we had with Benitez before he left under H&G)

2- building a new stadium/expansion (which again you can point fingers at H&G and Moores who both chose to line pockets than invest in club infrastructure)

3- lack of a long-term strategy (which was the reason why H&G were sold the club)

For all of the dislike of FSG, I can't quite believe these comments:





The one thing I think nobody can question is that FSG are taking a long-term strategy, and not just working day to day. You suggest that Arsenal could dominate?! They can't attract the quality of players they want. Even Ian Wright commented as such. Whereas Wenger seemed like the only one investing in youth, there are now a lot more teams doing it, which by proxy gives them more competition for players - and for the point I want to make, we have entered a similar market and that is why we've struggled (in some peoples eyes anyway) to attract big players in the market to date.

So much respect is given to Wenger because of his philosophy, and yet most Liverpool fans on here are happy to jump on Rodgers' back in trying to do the same. Wenger has failed (for 8 years) to replace Vieira. At various times, they have looked a couple of players short, and Wenger has insisted on spending money on the wrong positions. Now many on here could suggest that Rodgers has done the same so far this transfer window, but we still have time to, and signing Costa and Papadopolous would be investing in two areas we need to. A striker to play ahead/alongside Suarez, and a first-choice centre-half to play alongside Agger. In Melgarejo, he is investing in a youthful and talented player, who has struggled at left back but is very good offensively from what I have read and heard from critics. Rodgers either thinks he is a better back-up for Enrique than Robinson, or he is going to play him as a winger, and potentially pick up Cissoko too. Either way, he is still going to improve on Robinson who isn't good enough to make the team of any PL side right now.

There is potential we'll have a first team of:

Mignolet, Johnson, Papadopolous, Agger, Enrique, Lucas, Gerrard, Coutinho, Suarez, Costa, Sturridge...

Our second string:

Jones, Kelly, Toure, Coates, Melgarejo, Allen, Henderson, Alberto, Downing, Aspas, Borini

Which leaves Wisdom, Sterling and Ibe looking like the young trio behind that.

FSG have a long record of bringing success to the Red Sox. They are near the top of the table currently, having gone through a similar process. Ridding the club of high-earning under-performing players at fair prices, and bringing in younger (perceived to be better) prospects.

FSG also have record of expanding the stadium there, and an announcement was set to be made near the end of the transfer window... Which we have no reason to doubt won't happen, given there has already been much publicised progress on buying local houses to allow the build to happen.

Arsenal "are absolutely light years ahead of Liverpool"... Please... What FSG have done is suggest that expanding the stadium would provide the club with sufficient income to compete. Unlike Arsenal, there would be no need to build new, no need to invest £400M and by proxy, there wouldn't be a need to suffer long-term as a result. We would have a similar size stadium, with the same backing from a local fanbase, and potential to expand corporate facilities too.... How, when that could be funded and built inside 4 years, would that make us light-years behind?!

FSG's housekeeping is ensuring we have a lot of money to spend while we're outside the top 4. The club was already adjusted initially through FSG to be in a position where it was raising £10-15M per transfer window. Ridding the equivalent of £500k off the wage bill will give the club £23M excess on previous, which would be sufficient to add to a transfer kitty and give a manager near £45-50M of spending potential (albeit, I suspect Rodgers will be spending into that in terms of wages and transfers)...

No offence Stanley. I respect you, and I do really enjoy some of the comments you make. I just think you aren't actually seeing and judging FSG for what they are doing...