Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard revealed that he told Luis Suarez to shun Arsenal last summer as he was "too good" for them.
Suarez was the subject of a bid from the Gunners last year, but eventually stayed, despite claiming that he wanted to move to the Londoners at the time.
The Uruguayan has since joined Barcelona for £75m and the Reds skipper told The Mirror: "Last summer, when he was out in the cold and training on his own, that's the conversation I had with him. I said, 'Don't go to Arsenal.' With all due respect to them, I said to him that he was too good for Arsenal.
"I said, 'If you score 30 goals for us and win the PFA Player of the Year, the press Player of the Year' - and believe it or not I knew he was going to win them - 'they will come back for you.'
"You know what I think of him, I love him to bits and I'm his number one fan as a player. I spoke to him before he went, and he was so thankful to the club for all the times they stuck by him."
Suarez scored 31 goals last term en route to winning the FWA and PFA Player of the Year awards.
Paul Gorst
