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Arsenal are ready to make a sensational move for Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling, according to reports…
THE LOWDOWN: PREMIER LEAGUE STAR
Before joining City back in the 2015 summer transfer window in a deal worth a reported fee of £49m from Liverpool, the winger racked up a total of 129 senior appearances for the Reds across all competitions in which he managed to score 23 goals and provide 25 assists in the process.
Since then, the England international has enhanced his reputation by becoming a household name and an established Premier League star.
During his time with Pep Guardiola’s side, the 26-year-old, who is currently valued at £76.5m by Transfermarkt, has scored 130 goals and provided 93 assists in 337 appearances across all competitions, winning 11 trophies along the way.
The Kingston-born star is approaching the final year of his contract at the Etihad Stadium, and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta seems eager to work with the player again.
THE LATEST: READY TO EXPLORE
According to the Daily Telegraph, the Gunners are ready to explore a move for Sterling should he become available this summer when his contract enters its final year.
The report claims that Arteta would be willing to make Sterling a ‘focal point’ of Arsenal’s attack, although the move is dependent on the Gunners qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
The England international, 27, has put talks over his future to one side to concentrate on his team’s Premier League title defence and adding a fourth league winners’ medal to his collection.
With City traditionally reluctant to let players in their prime run down deals, his future is likely to be decided when the campaign is finished.
THE VERDICT: SENSATIONAL CAPTURE
The 74-time England international, who been labelled as an “exceptional” player by Guardiola, will indeed be a sensational capture for the Gunners if he was to join this summer.
Not only is he a tremendous footballer with a phenomenal record in the English top-flight, but he will certainly add experience, firepower and star power to the north London club’s attack.
The former Liverpool star has found starts hard to come by this campaign with just the 31 to his name so far, but he still remains City’s second top scorer behind Riyad Mahrez with 16 goals, and a further seven assists, topping last term’s goals tally of 14 with another 12 assists and highlighting just how much impact and quality he brings to the English champions.
As per FBRef, he ranks tenth amongst all Premier League players for non-penalty goals (10), seventh for xG (expected goals) (12.7), fifth for xG per 90 (0.58) as well as sitting sixth for carries into the penalty area (50) again showcasing that he is amongst the best in the division when it comes to scoring goals and creating them.
After all, if you consider the goals, assists and trophies that the QPR academy graduate has racked up during his at the Etihad, he would be an incredibly valuable asset to have for the Gunners and will prove the perfect icing on the cake for an attack that could look very strong ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
Arteta should certainly make Sterling the focal point of his attack next season.
AND in other news, One goal in five months: Should Arsenal still sign £45m-rated star after dip?
