Liverpool legend reveals he played a role in Arsenal's failure to capture Karim Benzema

Liverpool icon Luis Suarez has revealed how he indirectly scuppered Arsenal's move for then Real Madrid star Karim Benzema in 2014 - with much of it being attributed to his antics at that year's World Cup, when he infamously bit Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini.

At the time, Madrid were willing to offload Benzema, as they were intent on bringing Suarez to the club. The Uruguayan had led a wonderful campaign in 2013/14 with the Reds, scoring an astonishing 31 goals en route to an impressive second-placed finish.

However, after Suarez clamped his jaws around Chiellini's shoulder and the lengthy footballing ban that came with it, Los Blancos cooled their interest in him. This meant that they were no longer willing to sell Benzema - effectively dashing the Gunners' hopes of signing him.

Had Arsenal signed Benzema in 2014, the Premier League landscape may have been very different. In the 2014/15 season, the Gunners could only call upon Theo Walcott, Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud and Yaya Sanogo to play up top. Some of these were better suited to different roles, while the others often underwhelmed - it is not a stretch to believe that Benzema would have thoroughly outperformed each of them.

What did Luis Suarez say in the interview?

Speaking to DelSol 99.5 FM Radio in Uruguay [via The Standard], Suarez said: "Before the 2014 World Cup, Real Madrid wanted to sign me and everything was on track. They were planning to sell Benzema to Arsenal, it was all done.

"When the World Cup started, Barcelona joined the race and obviously I preferred Barca. With the bite situation, Madrid lowered their interest and Barca became more interested despite the punishment. I will always be grateful for that. In the end I had both options and I chose Barcelona because it was my dream."