Denis Suarez still believes he can salvage his Arsenal loan move, because the club’s warm weather break in Dubai will serve as a pre-season for him ahead of the last two months of the campaign.
Suarez has so far been underwhelming since his switch to the Gunners in January but sources close to the player have told Sportsmail that with the decisive games of the season still to be played, he has not given up on winning over supporters and the club.
There has been some sluggishness since his arrival in north London but that is seen both by the Suarez camp and by coach Unai Emery as a natural consequence of him having played so little for Barcelona since the start of this season.
There is a hope that he can take full advantage of the international break and hit the ground running when the team jet back to England after next Tuesday’s friendly with Al-Nasr Dubai SC.
The 25-year-old’s focus is on Arsenal’s next match against Newcastle and as the club try to get into top four and reach the Europa League semi-finals, he believes he still has a part to play.
Suarez was even advised against moving to the Premier League in January because of how tough the physical demands could be on a player who had made just two substitute appearances in the league for Barcelona in the first half of the season.
He accepted the challenge because he believed the opportunity was too good to turn down.