The German defender believes the Liverpool striker would have “fitted in” at the Emirates Stadum but claims Mesut Ozil was the right addition for Arsene Wenger’s side

Per Mertesacker has revealed his Arsenal team-mates were keen on Luis Suarez joining the club last summer.

The Gunners had two bids for the Uruguay international turned down, but Wenger insists he will not reignite his interest in Suarez at the end of the season, although Mertesacker believes the Liverpool forward would have settled quickly in north London.

“Suarez is like a cheeky boy, he looks like a cheeky boy who can really switch on and off how he wants to be, so that is really something,” Mertesacker told The Guardian.

“When he is on the pitch, what is going on around him doesn’t bother him.

“He is just a pure striker and that is what comes out after the transfer requests and him saying: ‘It’s better for me to leave because I want to play Champions League.’

“When we heard that Arsenal might be interested in him, obviously we were up for it and we thought, ‘Yeah, he would fit in.’ But after, we got [Mesut] Ozil.”

Mertesacker claims the arrival of compatriot Ozil from Real Madrid boosted everyone connected with Arsenal and believes the midfielder was “the right addition” last summer.

“To reach another level, you sometimes need the right addition to lift everybody, not just the players but the whole club and the whole public in between,” said the Germany international.

“We didn’t need five or six players late in the window, which is what Arsenal got when I arrived.

“It is not easy to get everyone settled. We were a good squad and we didn’t lose any players over the summer, which was the main part. But we needed that right addition and we can say that Ozil was it.”