Arsenal legend wants the club to go ‘all in’ to sign Jack Grealish

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Former Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn has urged the Gunners to sign Jack Grealish from Aston Villa this summer.

Since being promoted with Villa ahead of last season Grealish has taken the Premier League by storm, emerging as one of the most talented attacking midfielders in the top flight.

READ MORE: Five Arsenal stars set to be victims of summer clearout

In the 2020/21 season he has scored six goals and recorded 10 assists in 22 starts in the league.

His tally of 10 assists can only be bettered by Harry Kane (13) and Kevin De Bruyne (11) within Europe’s top five leagues in England, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France.

His performances have naturally catalysed interest from some of the top clubs in England, including apparently Arsenal, and Winterburn hopes they can win the race for his signature.

“I’d like to see Arsenal go ‘all in’ and sign Jack Grealish,” Winterburn told Genting Bet.

“He is a terrific player. His ability speaks for itself and he’s the type of player that if we want to move forward then we should be looking to buy.

“He tends to prefer to play on the left-hand side so we’d need to see how that works with Arsenal’s current set up but I’m sure he could play in that Number 10 role as well.”

The Odegaard factor

After being deemed surplus to requirements at Real Madrid this season and only making three starts in La Liga, Martin Odegaard was allowed to leave the Santiago Bernabeu club on loan until the end of the season.

He has made an immediate impact, though, and looks at home at the Emirates after a string of impressive outings, no more so than against West Ham at the weekend when he clawed Arsenal to a 3-3 draw after being 3-0 down.

Winterburn knows that any potential acquisition of Grealish may come down to whether or not Odegaard is signed.

“Lots is up in the air with Arsenal, they’re not sure if [Martin] Odegaard will sign in the long term and that needs to be addressed beforehand,” he continued.

“One thing is for sure, if Grealish does become available then a whole host of clubs will be in for him.”

As well as Arsenal, Grealish is reportedly a transfer target for Manchester United, Manchester City, and Liverpool.