Suarez was never going to join Arsenal, insists Rodgers

The striker was vocal in his desire to leave during
the summer but his boss claims Liverpool never
considered a sale to the Gunners or anyone else
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was never going to
be allowed to join Arsenal , according to manager
Brendan Rodgers.

Suarez publicly stated his desire to leave Anfield
during pre-season, with a lack of Champions
League football said to be his primary reason,
prompting the Gunners bid £40,000,001 million in
an attempt to trigger a release clause.

Liverpool held firm, refusing to sell the Uruguayan,
and the decision has paid dividends already with
Suarez netting six goals in three Premier League
appearances since, and Arsenal are his next
opponents.
"It was something that was never going to happen.

I respect why Arsenal wanted to buy a player of
Luis' quality because he's one of the leading
strikers in the world," Rodgers told reporters.

"But for us, and the institution that we are, we
certainly weren't going to sell to a rival or a
competitor.

That's something we felt very strongly
about from the off.

"It's a great credit to the owners and the
leadership of the club that they stood by what my
thoughts were as a manager and they backed it all
the way.

The Emirates Stadium fixture is hotly anticipated,
with Arsenal and Liverpool - two of three highest
scorers in the league - making superb starts to the
season.

And Rodgers is looking forward to seeing how his
side respond to the challenge of playing against
the league leaders..
"It's two very good teams - Arsenal are an
excellent side and score goals. They've got some
top players," he said.

"We arrive at the game really confident and with
belief off the back of an outstanding performance
[against West Brom].

The players forgot about it
very quickly [though] and thoughts turned to this
game.

"The quality of our training this week has been
outstanding.

We look to take it into the game but it
will be very difficult."