Why Arsenal NEED to go all out to sign Sterling in January

Stefan Bienkowski

• Updated: 29 Nov 2021 08:44 GMT
• 5 min read

Arsenal may have got their season back on track with some stern, defensive performances, but Mikel Arteta will know new attacking recruits will be needed in January to make the most of this league campaign.

Few could doubt that the London club have a number of impressive defensive and midfield stars, but their attacking line leaves plenty to be desired. And it’s exactly where the club must invest money in January.

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Fortunately for Arsenal, an ideal recruit may be found in Manchester City’s own Raheem Sterling, who has been linked with a move to the Gunners for some time.

According to the Transfer Window Podcast, Arteta’s side are one of the clubs that have expressed an interest in the England international and in many ways it would be the perfect signing for the club in the forthcoming transfer window.

They need world class players

To get into the top four, Arsenal need top four players and right now they have few and far between.

Not only does Sterling bring goals and assists, but he also brings the kind of ambition, drive and expectation that his team should be challenging the best in the league every week.

As Jamie Carragher once pointed out on Sky Sports recently, that’s exactly what Arsenal lack.

"You look at the team’s challenging for the league now and that’s where Arsenal are trying to get to, you need world class players," said Carragher.

"They have two or three young players, Smith Rowe, Saka and Odegaard – they’re not world class but they have the potential to be special.

"But they won’t all get there, they won’t all get to the level that’s needed to challenge for the title, so they’ll need to keep spending in the next three or four transfer windows."

They need new forwards

Another reason why Arsenal desperately need to sign Sterling sooner rather than later is because they simply don’t have any forwards they can rely upon.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has managed just seven goals in his first 13 games, Alexandre Lacazette has all but confirmed his intention to leave in January and Nicolas Pepe continues to baffle fans of the club with just one goal so far this season.

If Arsenal have the opportunity to trade all of that in for a player with 97 goals and 72 assists in 297 Premier League games, then they absolutely must.