LA Galaxy coach Bruce Arena says it's crucial that Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard plays as often as he can in MLS.

The former England skipper's decision to end his long association with the Anfield club was, in part, due to being told his playing time would be managed by Reds boss Brendan Rodgers.

"I will manage his minutes, I'm going to try and get him on the field as much as possible," said Arena in a conference call.

"My best guess is that we will play him closer to a forward than towards our centre-backs. He's a player with obviously very good attacking qualities and we want to get him pushed as close to goal as we can, when we can.

"I think we can accommodate that through a variety of positions. It'll take a little bit of time but we'll get it figured out by the time Stevie arrives."

Arena revealed the Galaxy have been tracking Gerrard for some time.

But he admitted to thinking, until recently, the possibility of bringing him to the west coast club was remote.

"On and off over the years, Stevie has always been a name that we've examined as a potential player to come to the LA Galaxy," said Arena.

"I would say my thinking was that it was going to be a long shot to acquire Stevie, but as we got closer towards the end of the year the interest on both parties picked up and we were very fortunate to be able to secure a deal."