The latest reports suggest Raheem Sterling wants to be an Arsenal player next season. The report comes from the unreliable Daily Star – but they seem pretty certain, giving the story their back page and claiming it as an ‘exclusive’.
The Star suggest Sterling would prefer to move to Arsenal over Manchester City as he would like to return to London. He’d probably have more regular game time at Arsenal too, and play alongside more English international teammates.
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I’m actually one of the few Arsenal fans who would not be against Sterling joining us. His attitude needs to be curbed and agent sacked, but I think he can realise his world class potential with us. For anything less than £35million I’d be very happy to see him join. Many fans are forgetting the excellent season he endured as a teenager in 2013/14. I’m also one of the few who think we could do with another player of Sterling’s ilk. We don’t have many players who can actually beat opponents using skill. Walcott can kick it past a player and run onto it, but when teams park the bus against us we struggle to break them down. Sterling is raw, but can give our squad something new and help us break down teams in certain types of games.
Another positive of Sterling’s apparent desire to play for Arsenal is the fact that he’s a top, young English talent, and he wants to leave Liverpool for Arsenal. That says something about the size and quality of the two clubs, and it will hurt Liverpool fans, even if they don’t admit it.
If Sterling did choose Arsenal over Manchester City then City may well turn their attentions to Theo Walcott. The Gunners may be able to take advantage of City’s desperation for homegrown talent and net £25million for the Englishman. Or we could offer Walcott and up to £15million to Liverpool, a deal which looks like it might be of interest.
For me though, all the signs point to Sterling joining Manchester City this summer. The only way I can see him joining Arsenal is if Liverpool accept £40million or less, and Sterling refuses joining City – which I doubt will be the case.
This summer looks set to be a very interesting one, with England’s top clubs set to battle with each other for the top talent. Make sure you regularly check fresharsenal.com for all the latest news, and follow us on Twitter @Fresh_Arsenal