Arsenal are set to launch a £40 million ($61 million) bid for Liverpool forward Luis Suarez, as Arsene Wenger admits he is working hard to bring in a quality striker to the Emirates during the summer transfer window.
The Gunners already had a bid of £30 million ($45.7 million) plus add-ons rejected by Liverpool, with the Reds claiming the offer was nowhere near their valuation of the player.
Suarez has a clause in his contract where he will be free to talk to any club that makes an offer of £40 million ($61 million), but will not necessarily move as Liverpool are not forced to accept the offer.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers insisted he wants to keep Suarez, who was named in the club's squad for a preseason tour of Asia and Australia, and something "drastic" would have to happen for the 26-year-old to leave Anfield.
"Luis Suarez is a wonderful player and he is still very much a Liverpool player," Rodgers told reporters in Jakarta.
"He is a very important member of this squad and I am looking forward to working with him again this season.
"There has been lots of speculation about Luis moving to another club but, as I said, he is very much a Liverpool player.
"We had an offer that was nowhere near what we value him at. He's one of the top strikers in the world.
"Of course he wants to work and play at the top level. But unless something drastic happens, he will be staying here.
"He has got three years left on his contract. We are looking forward to him helping us get into the Champions League spots."
Suarez would prefer a move to Real Madrid, but is reportedly now open to a switch to a Premier League club in the Champions League
Arsenal have been busy in their pursuit of a striker, with Gonzalo Higuain heavily linked with a move, while Wayne Rooney is also seen as a possibility.
Wenger said he is working hard on bringing in a marquee center forward to the club and did not rule out Rooney making a switch to the Emirates in a reverse of the Robin Van Persie transfer last season.
"It happened to us (with van Persie). It can happen to them (United). But anyway, Rooney is under contract," he said. "He has two years to go. It's Man United who make a decision.
"We push every week. We work on it (transfers) but the competition in Europe is very hard at the moment. There's a lot of money and not many players.
"We are, at the moment, not specifically after one name. We have not the problem of the wages of Wayne Rooney but it's very difficult for us to talk about any specific case.
"I admire everybody who is a top striker, but at the moment we work well but we are not close to sign anybody.
"As soon as we will be, we'll let you know."
