It all began with a nice bite on the arm of a fellow professional.
The world watched in shock as an incredibly talented footballer, no doubt, put himself on the back pages for all the wrong reasons, as if the diving, cheating and racial abuse on another professional weren’t enough. Oh wait, he had bitten another footballer before.
At the end of last season, Luis Suarez publicly declared his intentions to leave England because the Press have been intruding into his private life which meant that the writing was on the wall regarding his imminent exit. It was only a matter of time.
As the days turned to weeks, Suarez was heavily linked with a big money move to Real Madrid but he turned his focus to business on the field, as the Conferedations Cup beckoned. He managed to surpass Diego Forlan’s record to become his nation’s highest ever goalscorer but with the tournament reaching its climax with a Brazil win over Spain, off the field shenanigans became even stronger.
Arsenal were touted as sure-fire favourites to swoop for Real Madrid’s goal poacher, Gonzalo Higuain, but it’s sad to know that things haven’t quite gone according to plan – putting it mildly.
It's finally official. Gonzalo Higuain arrived at Rome – not even Naples – where 200 Napoli fans welcomed him. €37m fee + €3m in add-ons.
— Waleed Abu Nada (@waleedabunada) July 24, 2013
Napoli president tweeting that Higuain and Reina have passed medicals and will soon join the team
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) July 24, 2013
Out of the blue, the Telegraph reported that Arsenal made an audacious £30m bid, that was rebuffed by Liverpool.
It didn’t quite add up if the situation was judged from a neutral perspective. Despite the fact that the Arsenal hierarchy had blew their trumpet about how much money was in the bank, the club’s record signing still remains a Russian hobbit that cost £15m, which meant that the bid for Suarez was two times the record fee.
Then there was the excess baggage as well, and with Arsene Wenger known to be a very disciplined man, many were bewildered and perplexed to know that he would sanction a bid for a “despicable” player like Suarez. Some would say that Tony Adams, Paul Merson and even Robin van Persie (in his Feyernoord days) weren’t as holy as thou, but they didn’t revert to such extreme measures as racism and cannibalism.
Leading Arsenal blogs like Arseblog, Gunnerblog and 7am Kick Off shared their views on signing Suarez. I even published a post revealing the pros and cons going for the hothead. As expected, this brought mixed opinions among Arsenal fans as one faction believed that just his undoubted talent was more than enough for the club to battle hard for him while others believed that his excess baggage would be a real issue if he joins.
Liverpool gaffer, Brendan Rodgers, stated that he’s going to remain a Liverpool player unless something drastic happens. Days later, the Mirror’s John Cross stated that Wenger had sanctioned an improved offer for the Uruguayan. The improved offer turned out to be £40,000,001 which has also been rejected by the Merseyside outfit, however, that bid triggered a clause which states that Liverpool have to inform Suarez about the offer, like he doesn’t read the papers or something.
In the wake of the new bid for Liverpool’s prized asset, the club’s owner, John Henry, used his Twitter account to openly mock Arsenal’s improved bid,
What do you think they're smoking over there at Emirates?
— John W. Henry (@John_W_Henry) July 24, 2013
As bizarre as that sounded, it clearly indicated that the Anfield outfit are willing to go all out to hold onto their prized asset. However, BBC Sport has reported that the forward has spoken about his desire to hold talks with Arsenal. This is coming from a player that stated how he wanted to leave the shores of England, except if he believes that London is another country on its own. Footballers can be that smart you know.
To make things more spicy, Wayne Veysey of Goal.com tweeted that the forward is preparing a transfer request to force a move to Arsenal.
Suarez preparing to submit formal transfer request to force move to Arsenal. Has told #LFC he wants to join #AFC. Story to come….
— Football Insider (@footyinsider247) July 24, 2013
Suarez returned to the field of play in Liverpool’s recent win over Australia’s Melbourne Victory. Late in the game, Suarez showed off his brilliance by leaving some defenders for dead before setting up newbie, Iago Aspas, for a goal but his celebration was somewhat subdued, which probably sends a message that he believes he’s living on borrowed time at Liverpool.
The Gunners are still in the Far East to play their final Asia Tour game against Urawa Red Diamonds before Arsene Wenger and his men jet back to London for the Emirates Cup.
As awkward as this may sound, Gonzalo Higuain will play against Arsenal when the Gunners take on Napoli on the 3rd of August. Who knows if Luis Suarez will be donning the sacred Red and White on that fateful day.
Sayonara.
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