Former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that the club were bitterly disappointed to miss out on Alexis Sanchez.

When it became apparent that Luis Suarez was leaving Anfield for Barcelona, the Reds made plans to replace the Uruguayan with Barca's Sanchez.

However, Arsenal managed to land the Chilean forward from the Catalan giants from under the noses of Liverpool, forcing the Reds to sign Rickie Lambert from Southampton.

Rodgers explained the transfer when he appeared on Sky Sports' Goals on Sunday program: "The huge blow was that we thought we were getting Alexis Sanchez and that he'd be a like-for-like replacement, in terms of how he pressed the game and his aggression.

"We thought he'd be perfect, it'd be a smooth transition, and Rickie Lambert would come in and be an option if we needed something else in the game.

"But we didn't get Alexis Sanchez and, bless Rickie, there was a lot of pressure on him when really that wasn't the plan."

Since leaving Liverpool, Suarez has dominated for Barcelona while Sanchez has been one of Arsenal's best players over the past 18 months. On the other side of the ledger, Lambert was subsequently sold to West Bromwich Albion after a dismal season on Merseyside.