Suarez was 'too good' for Arsenal, says Gerrard

Liverpool skipper reveals his sage advice to star Uruguayan striker

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has revealed he told former teammate Luis Suarez he was "too good" to join Arsenal when the north London club came calling for him last year.

Arsenal tabled a $67.5 million bid for Suarez a year ago in the mistaken belief it would trigger a release clause in his contract.

The Uruguayan went on to score 31 goals as Liverpool narrowly missed out on the Premier League title and although he has since joined Barcelona, Gerrard was relieved to not see him move to Arsenal.

"Last summer, when Luis was out in the cold, I told him, 'Don't go to Arsenal'," Gerrard told the Thursday editions of several British newspapers. "With all due respect to them, I told him he was too good for Arsenal."

While Gerrard was loath to see the back of a player who he has described as the most talented he has ever played with, he understood the 27-year-old's reasons for heading to Catalonia.

"Luis's dream, from the first day he came to us, was to play for Real Madrid or Barcelona," said the 34-year-old.

"I said, 'If you score 30 goals for us and win the PFA (Professional Footballers' Association) Player of the Year and FWA (Football Writers' Association) Footballer of the Year (awards), they will come back for you'.

"I thought for his own sake, and to get our fans' respect, he had to give us at least one more year."

Gerrard also said: "You can't begrudge him his dream, leaving for Barca. But I'd have been disappointed if he had left for Arsenal."

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique believes an "angry" Suarez will be desperate to prove himself when he has served his four month ban for bitring an opponent at the World Cup.

"I expect that he (Suarez), like anybody who has the possibility of doing their work taken away from them, will be feeling rage," Pique said at a news conference at Barca's preseason training camp in England.

"For the time being he has to wait," said the Spain defender. "When he returns he will be full of desire to show that he is one of the best forwards on the planet."

Suarez will join Argentina captain Lionel Messi and Brazil forward Neymar in a formidable attack as Barca seeks to bounce back from a disappointing 2013-14 season in which it failed to win major silverware for the first time in six years.