Get the FREE Mirror Football newsletter by email with the day's key headlines and transfer news Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Arsene Wenger has been given the go-ahead to spend £40million on Luis Suarez, writes John Cross in Nagoya .

And Arsenal are confident that Suarez will quit Liverpool for a sensational move to the Emirates.

Gunners boss Wenger also has Gonzalo Higuain and Wayne Rooney on his radar, but Suarez is his No1 choice.

Liverpool insist that Suarez is not for sale and have already knocked back one approach for Arsenal after claiming their valuation of a £35m package was not enough.

Suarez has a £40m clause in his contract which his advisers believe entitles him to leave if any club matches the price.

But Liverpool are adamant they only have to inform Suarez - and are not obliged to sell. Anfield boss Brendan Rodgers said he expects the Uruguay striker to stay “unless something drastic happens.”

(Image: Getty)

The Arsenal board have given Wenger a £70m transfer war chest and made it clear that if he wants to spend the majority on Suarez, they will back his judgement.

Wenger also wants to strengthen in other areas – with Everton’s Marouane Fellaini among his midfield targets – but Suarez would eat up much of his budget.

Suarez was named in Liverpool’s 27-man squad for their pre-season tour of Indonesia, Australia and Thailand, although he is one of three players joining the party “later on in the tour” following Confederations Cup duty. Rodgers, speaking in Jakarta, said: “Luis Suarez is a wonderful player and he is still very much a Liverpool player.

“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 scored 30 times last season, but will miss six games at the start of the new campaign – the remains of a 10-match ban for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.

Now watch John Cross assess Luis Suarez and Gonzalo Higuain in our Football Spy video special: