Suarez: Gerrard & the Liverpool fans convinced me to stay

The Uruguayan admits the backing of his team-
mates and supporters persuaded him to remain
at Anfield, and says he is giving no more
thought to transfer speculation
Luis Suarez has revealed the support of the
Liverpool fans and club captain Steven Gerrard
convinced him to stay at Anfield.
The Uruguayan spent most of the summer
trying to engineer a move away from
Merseyside, with Saturday's Premier League
opponents Arsenal his most determined
suitors.
But having been forced to stay, Suarez has
returned to the Liverpool side in blistering
form, scoring six goals in five matches -
including a hat-trick against West Brom last
Saturday.
"Steve [Gerrard] spoke a lot to me, he gave me
advice and told me what I needed to hear," he
told Sport 890. "When I was separated, he told
he didn't like that and wanted me to be with
the group. Today I feel very supported by my
team-mates.
"The support of the fans was also very
important. I always could walk on the street
with no trouble. I was never threatened or
anything like that, it was all made up. The
people told me to stay.
"I work hard for Liverpool and I will always be
thankful to the club."
Suarez also insisted he is relishing the
challenge of facing Arsenal at the Emirates
Stadium, and views it as a chance for Liverpool
to prove their top-four credentials.
"English football is the best you can find," he
added. "The atmosphere, the stadiums, the
people, everything is incredible.
"The game against Arsenal is very important to
know where are we. If we can be on top,
fighting for the first four places in the table. It
is a nice match against a direct opponent.
"The people are enthusiastic about how the
team is playing. We are scoring and we are
doing well in defence. The victories against
Manchester United and Aston Villa, both 1-0,
are a good example.
"Last year, those kind of games we used to
draw or lose. If we continue this way, we are
going to among the first four."
Despite Liverpool's firm stance in the summer,
some have suggested Suarez will again seek to
leave in January or next summer, but the
player himself insists he is giving no thought to
such matters.
"I don't want to listen to anything about any
rumour," he insisted. "My agent is in charge of
that, there are many inventions and no reality.
"I had a very complicated summer but the nice
thing is that I am playing again. I am very
happy and what I want is to help the team."