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LONDON. — Arsene Wenger scoffed at the idea he might pay close to £100 million for Luis Suarez but maintained he is still interested in the Liverpool striker, apparently undeterred by Brendan Rodgers’ assertion that the Uruguayan is not for sale. The Liverpool manager said that Suarez, who played for 30 minutes in Steven Gerrard’s testimonial match at Anfield on Saturday, should be valued in the same ballpark as Gareth Bale, who is expected to head to Real Madrid for around £100m.
When asked if he would pay that to bring the controversial striker to the Emirates, Wenger’s answer was revealing.
“You know me well enough to come to your own conclusion on that,” he remarked.
Wenger hit back on Saturday at Rodgers after the Liverpool manager insisted Arsenal’s bid for Suarez fell well short of the player’s valuation.
Rodgers claimed Suarez’s qualities meant he should be valued in similar terms to Bale, the Tottenham forward who has attracted a near £100 million approach from Real Madrid.
Speaking after his side’s 2-2 draw with Napoli on the first day of the pre-season Emirates Cup tournament, Arsenal manager Wenger confirmed the club had made a formal bid for Suarez — believed to be in the region of £40 million.
But he also insisted negotiations would remain in-house and admitted he was perplexed by Rodgers’s decision to speak out.
“I do not understand this kind of thinking and would not like to talk openly about negotiations, because that is not my target in (this) Press conference,” he said.
“We have one month in front of us and we will work very hard to strengthen our squad, without naming any specific names, because I do not believe that will make negotiations easier.
“After that, you can make all kind of thinking about the price of the players and you can say as well they are all overboard anyway.
“I never said we have made a bid to Liverpool, now I can tell you we have made one, so at least that is some information. All the rest, I would like to keep to us.
“If we progress in that situation, we will inform you. At the moment, that is where we are.”
Wenger and his club’s board have once again come in for criticism in recent weeks after failing to secure any of their high-profile transfer targets, but the manager insists the club’s approach to conducting business will not change.
“When you want to buy any player, you need the agreement of the club, of the player and you need to agree a price, so you need three agreements,” Wenger said.
“It is like you go to your neighbour and say: ‘I want to buy your house, so get out tomorrow morning.’ He will not be necessarily happy about it.
“What is important is we focus on the players we have, that we are not too much drawn into these stories.
“I can understand they are interesting for people who love football, but it is not the most important (thing) in the game.
“We will treat every transfer with the rules we have always done until now, that is in a fair and respectful way.
“That is our club. That other clubs do differently is their problem, but we will be completely faithful to the values we think are important here.”
And asked if he believed his current squad could win the English Premier League title, Wenger said: “Yes, of course. I am confident. Why should I sit here and say to you we can absolutely not win the title with the players we have?”
Wenger’s priority might be to sign a first-rate forward but on the evidence of the two first-half goals conceded in the opening match of the Emirates Cup on Saturday against Italian side Napoli, he may subject his defence to further inspection, too.
The Gunners’ frailties at the back were exacerbated by the absence of Thomas Vermaelen who is out for six weeks and Nacho Monreal.
Right back Carl Jenkinson fumbled as he attempted to head a long ball by Napoli’s Gokhan Inler, allowing Lorenzo Insigne to show the killer instinct that Arsenal lacked in the first half.
Arsenal were gifted the opportunity to level when referee Kevin Friend awarded a soft penalty for a challenge by Valon Behrami on Kieran Gibbs.
Lukas Podolski stepped up and blasted the ball straight into the hands of Napoli’s new loan signing Pepe Reina. Arsenal’s defending for the second goal was lackadaisical.
Goran Pandev was given free reign to stroll through the box where he met a sweet back pass from strike partner Marek Hamsik, rounded Lukasz Fabianski and curled the ball into the corner of the net.
The introduction of Theo Walcott livened the Gunners. His perfectly-placed corner found Olivier Giroud in the box and the Frenchman’s overhead kick beat Reina on 73 minutes.
A Walcott free-kick led to the equaliser. Reina did well to stop Giroud’s header but Laurent Koscielny took advantage of the rebound to secure a draw with five minutes to play.
Wenger, who hopes to conclude the sale of strikers Marouane Chamakh and Gervinho this week, said: “It was a good game overall at a good pace against a good side.
“I feel overall over 90 minutes we played going forward. It took us time to adjust defensively. And as well it was a good mental test because from two-nil down to come back for two-two is very impressive.”
Napoli manager Rafael Benitez was back in London for the first time since his departure from Chelsea at the end of last season after his spell as interim boss and he declared himself satisfied with his new side’s display.
“The game went well for us. We clearly showed what we wanted to do, how we wanted to play and were up to it,” Benitez said.
Meanwhile, Arsenal boss Wenger has confirmed Gervinho and Marouane Chamakh are close to moves away from the Emirates.
Roma are in advanced talks to sign Ivory Coast international Gervinho, while Premier League new boys Crystal Palace are thought to be chasing Chamakh.
Wenger is willing to let the pair move on as he looks to free up some funds for his own transfer plans, however, the Frenchman insists there has been no movement on the future of another unsettled forward Nicklas Bendtner.
Eintracht Frankfurt have been linked with a move for Bendtner, but a move has fallen through for the Danish international.
Wenger admits he will know more on the possible transfers in the next 48 hours and he confirmed the deals for Gervinho and Chamakh will be permanent moves.
“Gervinho we are at the moment close to an agreement with a club where he should go,” Wenger told the club’s official website.
“Bendtner we are nowhere. At the moment he is completely here. Chamakh might go somewhere, it will be decided in the next 48 hours. (They are) permanent moves.” — AFP.
Online Reporter