The Suarez Debacle - An Essay

We are at a point now where the needs of the club must be put first and foremost in every single decision we make. We have been stationary for a substantial period of restructure and rebuilding which has only been extenuated by the influx of investment in the English game particularly, therefore, as many have already said, THIS is the summer where Arsenal need to change their transfer policy. In pursuing targets such as Luis Suarez and (allegedly) Wayne Rooney, what the club has done is set a new precedent for the quality of players that they are trying to bring in, and this is exceptionally exciting for their fans who have spent many years watching others do exactly the same. That is why in particular the potential purchase of Luis Suarez is well supported amongst Arsenal fans, although it is still highly controversial, it signals new levels of ruthlessness (but I would argue, not classlessness) in order to gain a player who will significantly improve our squad. The saga surrounding Suarez draws many parallels with what has happened to Arsenal themselves in the past, most strikingly the high profile transfer of Robin van Persie to Manchester United this time last year. While some will claim that Suarez has shown significantly less loyalty than van Persie did last summer, as a fan on the Arsenal (and therefore, losing) side of that transfer I beg to differ. By the time that he eventually left the club, van Persie had spent eight years contracted to Arsenal, joining as a 21 year old in 2004, and during that time the club stood by him through a number of injury-plagued seasons. Undoubtably, both Arsenal and Arsene Wenger contributed incredible amounts to the player's phenomenal development which ultimately saw him become (for me at least) THE premier striker in European football. Now, when you look at the facts, it seems entirely logical that van Persie wanted to leave the Emirates when he did, I am not going to try and deny that, what I am going to try to explain is why I feel it is wrong to place Suarez in an entirely different category. Obviously, when van Persie decided that his time with Arsenal was coming to an end, it was at a point in his career where progress was essential and, rightly or wrongly, he felt that the club were simply not going to take him to that next step. A year on, and if I remove my emotional response entirely from the equation, he seems justified. Manchester United once again ended the season as (comfortable) champions of England, and the player picked up the medal that I don't think anyone can argue he truly deserved. Of course, anyone with a passing interest in football knows all this already, so why have I included it? In short, it is pretext for what I am about to say about Luis Suarez's own transfer saga. 

Now, let me start off this part of the piece by stating that I truly do respect Liverpool football club as exactly that, a fantastic and historic football club. People who know me will probably laugh at that; I have openly voiced my dislike of the club many times and mocked them for everything from their recent managers and transfer acquisitions to the seeming inability of (a very small proportion) of their fanbase to escape the shackles of the club's prestigious past. I do not deny that this is the case, however I completely understand why the past is such an important part of the club still. My point being, despite what I am about to go on to say, I do honestly respect Liverpool FC and everything that they are battling with and trying to achieve at this point in time. Nonetheless, I see Suarez as being in a similar position to that of van Persie twelve months ago. As an Arsenal fan, it pains me to say this, but our captain had outgrown the club by the time he left, in the same way that after three years at Liverpool, it is clear that Suarez needs a challenge of a higher calibre. Just like van Persie needed to be challenging for the Premier League title, something that we feasibly just could not give him, Suarez needs to be playing amongst Europe's elite, and Liverpool are certainly nowhere near that position at this point in time. As far as 'loyalty' goes, I must say that I have lost a lot of faith in it playing any sort of part in a player's decision making process these past few years. In fact, this is not even really that new a problem. Arsenal have notoriously been on the wrong end of what I think I am right to call 'player power' for much of the last decade, with players like Patrick Vieira, Aleksander Hleb, Mathieu Flamini, Samir Nasri, Emmanuel Adebayor, Gael Clichy, Cesc Fabregas and of course even Theirry Henry forcing moves away from the club in recent times. Therefore I think their fans are possibly in one of the best positions to observe 'loyalty' (or a lack thereof) within the game. Yes, the Liverpool fans have stood by Luis Suarez through some, frankly ridiculous, tough times at the club, and I am in no doubt that they are owed at least some form of respect from the player as a result, but the notion that this is a disgusting act of betrayal when compared to Robin van Persie is frankly ludicrous. The infamous 'message to the fans' was a metaphorical kick to the groin of every single Arsenal fan out there, and whilst Suarez's comments last night are clearly different in that they actually accuse Liverpool of acting in bad faith, both are and were completely disrespectful to both the club in question and the fans themselves. Both need/needed a way out for their own personal gain, and I completely disagree with the sentiment that van Persie is somehow vindicated whereas Suarez is simply a conniving, unscrupulous cheat with Liverpool the innocent victims. 

Anyway, if he moves, it matters not whether he 'betrayed' his former club, and I now want to address those who are disgusted by the thought of the player playing for anyone, let alone Arsenal, and cannot fathom why the club are so desperate to see this deal through. As I alluded to at the start of this essay (I suppose that I have to label it such now) this is probably one of the most momentous summers seen in the club's history and therefore it is finally time to look at incoming transfers from a somewhat different perspective. Whereas, during the past eight years, in which the club has famously won no trophies and moved from Highbury into a stadium that is entirely self-funded, it was understandably necessary to keep spending to an absolute minimum, the situation has now changed dramatically. Arsenal and their board take great pride in the way that the club is run (despite aggravating a large proportion of the fanbase with their actions) but what it has allowed is the club to drag itself to an, almost, level playing field with the clubs that have benefitted from financial backing in the last decade. Therefore, finally, moves for players such as Suarez and Rooney have become a possibility whereas they would have been literally laughable in previous seasons. Just to reinforce how much of a change this has brought, we now have the potential to sign Suarez for around £45m, around three times the amount paid for our previous record transfer, Andrei Arshavin. What this means in reality is that the club is under more pressure than ever before to succeed this season and finally end the barren trophy spell that is the subject of so many delightful taunts. For this, in the current economic world of football, there is only one solution, pay excessive transfer fees in order to obtain the very best players out there. For Arsenal and their fans, signing Luis Suarez makes a lot of sense, even if it does not appear this way to fans of opposing teams. Whilst Olivier Giroud's contribution in his first season in England was by no means embarrassing, it was obviously not near the standard needed to seriously challenge for a title, and therefore it is the front line that has been most focused on this summer as the area requiring reinforcement. With players such as Falcao and Cavani well out of our reach, Rooney and Lewandowski pining for other clubs, and Gonzalo Higuain's frankly ludicrous price tag, there is a shortage of realistic targets for Arsenal to pursue, so it leaves the club needing to make the best out of a potentially bad (and badly damaging) situation. 

Most Arsenal fans will be the first to tell you that Luis Suarez is not their first choice this summer, and only a delusional supporter would tell you that the club was the player's own preferred destination, yet the two seem to find each other in the 'right place at the right time' as it were. I totally understand fans of the sport becoming baffled as to why Arsenal, the perennial 'nice guys' of the Premier League are actively attempting to sign a player who has already served bans for racial abuse and what can only be described as assault, but the answer really is fairly simple sadly, we NEED to. Be under no allusions, the fans understand what they are getting with Suarez, they are willing to overlook his past misdemeanours to an extent due to the player's undoubtable dedication to and passion for the game, but that does not mean that it all goes away. It is most certainly a worry for the vast majority that the reputation of the player now precedes him but that is not on it's own a reason not to take a gamble. Also understand that most fans are fully aware that the likelihood is that even if the deal goes ahead, we will find ourselves in a similar position in one or two years time, most likely with Real Madrid looking to buy, whether we win trophies or not. The fact of the matter is, this summer, Arsenal must look to improve the squad at every opportunity, and having a player like Suarez in the team even for a brief amount of time will certainly make the possibility of trophies far higher than without. That, in short (or not!) is why Suarez to Arsenal makes sense for the club, it's simply a matter of working for the greater good.

Elliot Gibbons