Why Liverpool’s Luis Suarez should move to Arsenal

Luis Suarez is a player dogged in the hustle and bustle of a wide-scale transfer saga. A potential transaction of this sort often brings with it a tempering of flares; the staunching attacks often propagating from the club unwilling to sell their prized asset. The belittling of the potential buyer is something Arsenal is on the receiving end of and Brendan Rodgers recently questioned what fruition a prospective move from Liverpool to Arsenal would bring for the Liverpool front-man, this stance has been substantiated by former Liverpool and England International Michael Owen. It is clear that Michael’s ties to his former club have sparked bias-ridden comments with the intention of desisting Liverpool’s prized asset from moving to a rival. Contrary to the aforementioned views, I think a move to Arsenal would be a giant leap forward for the Liverpool star.

Arsenal has not failed to reach the Champions League since Wenger took over the managerial helm in 1996. Suarez is virtually guaranteed to become acclimatised to regular Champions league football upon a move to the Gunners. Playing in Europe’s most coveted club-based competition would be too dear an opportunity to dismiss. Taking part in such an event could and would, for a player of Suarez’ mould, open up a plethora of forthcoming opportunities; winning individual honours, such as the World Player of the Year Award, will become a more viable prize to attain when playing in the Champions League. The saliva-inducing prospect of matching wits with the Europe’s toughest defences is something Suarez can look forward to if he decides to make the transition to the North London-based club. Or, he could comply with the sentiments exhibited from the likes of Owen and decide to rest his derrière on the cushion of his arm-chair and observe Arsenal challenging for Europe’s top prize via whichever television a capitalist, consumerist society induced him to purchase in his house in Merseyside.

It is no secret that Suarez’ reputation has been sullied by his controversial on-field antics. His reputation as a Liverpool player is tainted with blackened bruises. A move to Arsenal presents a fresh start; it is an opportunity to evade the problem-riddled aura he’s marred by when playing in a Liverpool shirt. Wenger’s knack for moulding players nestled with on-field problems into well-respected men who regularly show gentlemanly conduct will also come in handy. Few would have predicted Van Persie becoming captain during the early stages of his Arsenal career. He had a short-temperament, a personal trait that spectators were often exposed to, often resulting in the accumulation of yellow and red cards. Under Wenger’s tutelage, Robin Van Persie successfully overcame this issue and, as a result, reaped many rewards (later becoming Arsenal captain, top goal scorer and title winner with Manchester United).

Football fans often observe such transfer sagas from a purely football-ing perspective. We regularly fail to take into account other more personal matters that the player will consider when ruminating over which decision to make. The geographical facet involved in a move to London is an imperative factor to discuss in conjunction with this particular transfer case. The lure of London is something Suarez may find difficult to resist. London is a city swept by swathes of vibrancy and rich in history – this in itself will be seen by most as providing fertile breeding ground for a slightly more fulfilling lifestyle than Liverpool has to offer. You could argue that this is a purely subjective point to make, but it would be whimsical to state that Liverpool is a greater sphere of cultural importance than London.