Wenger: No regrets on Suarez (anymore)

Arsene Wenger claims he no longer thinks about ‘what could have been’ if Arsenal had signed Luis Suarez in 2013.

The Gunners famously bid £40,000,001 for the Uruguayan, who had gone public with his desire to leave Liverpool, and a year later he joined Barcelona to form a terrifying front three with Neymar and Lionel Messi. Arsenal then bought Alexis Sanchez from the Spanish club.

The Gunners face Barcelona on Tuesday night in the Champions League with Wenger claiming: “I used to think, ‘What if I signed Luis Suarez’ before, but not now.

“He gives camaraderie to a team. He did it at Liverpool and he did it playing with Edinson Cavani and Diego Forlan for Uruguay, and did it well.

“Suarez is the kind of guy who manages to create that spirit in teams. Apart from the individual talent the three have, they also have a good understanding, cohesion and great solidarity.

“I have seen that Lionel Messi gave the ball to Suarez from a penalty, because he wanted him to be the best goal-scorer.

“When you see someone like Messi – who had the opportunity to score his 300th goal – do that, it means there’s really something there.

“Individually, all their players are difficult to stop. We have to find a way to do it collectively. We have to analyse what we do and do it well and together. We have to keep Suarez quiet on Tuesday night.”