Arsenal's £20m Alexis Sanchez bid complicates Barcelona's Luis Suarez negotiations

ARSENAL have thrown a spanner in the works of Liverpool's negotiations with Barcelona over Luis Suarez after lodging a £20m bid of Alexis Sanchez.

Alexis Sanchez prefers Arsenal to Liverpool[GETTY]

Liverpool want Sanchez to be included as a makeweight in any deal sending Suarez to Catalonia.

But Sanchez could yet veto a move to Anfield, with the Chilean thought to prefer a move to London.

Arsene Wenger has tried to take advantage of that by lodging an initial bid, if for no other reason than to let Barca no they have an alternative if Sanchez blocks a move to Liverpool.

While the offer is thought to fall substantially short of the Spanish club's £30m valuation of Sanchez, it could form the basis of further talks.