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One name can, with near-100% certainty, be checked off the list of potential Arsenal center forward purchases in January or this upcoming summer, and considering how the negotiations - if that's what you want to call them - went the first time around, chances were slim to begin with. Now they're virtually nil.
Luis Suarez signed a four-and-a-half year contract extension earlier today with Liverpool, bumping up his pay starting next season to an eye-watering £200,000/week and, presumably, including a more transparent release clause in this latest agreement. However, Suarez has done little to not justify such a wage increase this season. Since missing the first five matches of the season, Suarez has been nearly unstoppable, scoring at will and without care. He's leading the league in goals scored (17 in eleven matches, which lol), has scored as many or more goals than eleven EPL clubs have collectively scored as a team this season, and has largely been a model teammate both on-and-off the pitch; he's only been booked once - a yellow card - this season.
Realistically, there was a better chance of Arsene Wenger shooting fireworks out of his anus in today's press conference than there was of any sort of rational, level-headed negotiations between Arsenal and Liverpool for the transfer of Luis Suarez, given the chaos that surrounded the three parties this past summer. It was no secret that Wenger highly-valued the Uruguayan forward, and it's easy to see how he'd fit in with the rest of our squad given his immense talent. Now that the dream of Suarez-to-Arsenal is dead, maybe Wenger can consult with Wayne Veysey on whom to target next.