Out of favour Manchester City winger, Raheem Sterling is ready to move away from the Premier League champions. One of the sides that have shown interest in signing him is Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
Raheem Sterling has been finding it difficult to find playing time with City. The arrival of Jack Grealish this summer has further increased the competition and this has prompted the player to look for other options. Arsenal has been monitoring the situation of Sterling and even tried signing him in the summer.
The English winger however is also attracting interest from other sides as well. This includes the likes of Barcelona, Liverpool and Newcastle United. So Arsenal will have to move fast if they are serious about bringing Sterling to London.
LOOKING FOR A CHANGE
Though Sterling had a silent start to the new season he is still top class. His performance for England in the Euro 2020 was very impressive and showcased why he is one of the best players in the country.
In his current club Manchester City, the 26-year-old have made 307 appearances across all competition. During this time he contributed to 116 goals and 89 assists for the Citizens. He hit his top form in the 2019/20 campaign when he scored 20 goals in the Premier League from just 33 appearances. (all stats taken from Transfermarkt)
“If there was the opportunity to go somewhere else for more game time I would be open to it.”- said Raheem Sterling when asked about his future.
Sterling was not able to hit the same form last season and with minutes drying up this time, he is considering moving away from Manchester. The winger is also open to a move outside England, with Barcelona being heavily linked with him. But Arsenal after their failed attempt in summer looks to be ready to reignite their pursuit of Sterling.
STERLING WILL ADD QUALITY TO ARSENAL ATTACK
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is an admirer of Raheem Sterling and both of them have previously worked together in Manchester City. It was during Arteta’s time as an assistant coach at City that Sterling had his most goal output.
Playing under Pep Guardiola means that Sterling is versatile enough to fit into multiple roles in the attack. Though a left-winger by trade, he can also play on the right side. Currently, the Arsenal side is using Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka in the wings alongside Nicolas Pepe.
Pepe has been underwhelming since his arrival to Arsenal. Saka and Smith Rowe are both young and still developing into their game. Signing Sterling will surely help in adding more quality to the attack of Arsenal as they will fight for Champions League qualification.
But the issue for Arsenal is whether Sterling is the priority signing they need to make. Manchester City is reported to be asking around €80m for signing the English winger. Arsenal on the other hand is looking to sign a centre-forward. Both their strikers Alexandre Lacazette and Piere-Emerick Aubameyang are 30 or above and have shown signs of slowing down. Thus spending huge money in a position that is not a priority is something worth to be looked at.
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