Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla has revealed that he would have "loved" the club to have signed Liverpool striker Luis Suarez during the summer.

Suarez, along with Gonzalo Higuain, had been heavily linked with a transfer to the Emirates Stadium before both moves failed to materialise, and Cazorla has admitted that he and his teammates had expected a new forward to join the club.

The 28-year-old told The Guardian: "We had been hearing about strikers: Higuain, Luis Suarez, striker, striker, striker. Our striker was Giroud and you think: 'What if he gets injured? What do we need?' We expected a number nine but circumstances meant that we couldn't get Luis. Liverpool resisted.

"With Higuaín, Napoli got in ahead of us and he chose Italy. Suarez's incredible. I'd have loved it if he had come. His style would have suited us. Arsenal did all that they could and he wouldn't have minded.

"But Liverpool didn't want to sell, which they're entirely entitled to do, and he's playing incredibly again. It's a pity that he's not on our team!"

Arsenal are currently two points clear at the top of the Premier League table.