Man City dithering gives Arsenal hope over Barcelona winter target
Arsenal are reportedly monitoring the situation regarding Manchester City’s contract talks with Raheem Sterling as they continue to look at ways to improve the side.
The Gunners outlined their ambitions by spending in excess of £140m on new players in the summer. The north Londoners forked out £52m to bring defender Ben White to the Emirates from Brighton. Martin Odegaard’s loan deal was made permanent while goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale arrived from Sheffield United.
Bologna received £16.74m for right-back Takehiro Tomiyasu while midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga was recruited from Anderlecht. The new additions seemed to have little effect as Arsenal lost their first three Premier League games of 2021-2022.
However, 10 points from their past four games has steadied the ship. And they sat ninth in the table after Saturday’s goalless draw with Brighton.
It seems as though Mikel Arteta’s methods are finally paying off although a title challenge remains a long way off. With that in mind, the Spanish tactician is always on the lookout for ways of improving his side.
And a report on Sunday suggested former target Nabil Fekir is once again on the radar. However, the Daily Star are reporting that City and England star Sterling is the man they really want.
It would have seemed unfathomable to suggest Sterling might leave the Etihad at the start of last season. He was a regular starter for Pep Guardiola and bagged 20 top-flight goals and 31 in all competitions during 2019-2020.
But his production dropped off last term, with 14 goals from 49 outings. The former Liverpool man continues to shine for England and was superb in Euro 2020.
However, it seems as though Guardiola has lost a bit of faith in the forward, giving him the nod only twice this season. Sterling has one goal from nine appearances after starting most games on the bench.
Sterling contract means swift action needed
A number of pundits have questioned why the man with 18 England goals has fallen out of favour. Former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand recently took aim at Guardiola.
“Where is Raheem Sterling? He’s lost confidence because he’s been taken out of the team,” he told his FIVE YouTube channel. “He was the go-to guy when they needed a goal, for so many years, and now all of a sudden he’s in the wilderness.”
Barcelona’s struggles to appoint Xavi could open door to two other potential Koeman successors
Sterling will be out of contract at the end of next season and talks have restarted over a new deal. But it is by no means certain that he will ink fresh terms and Arsenal may look to take advantage.
Once valued in the £100m bracket, it is likely he would cost considerably less due to the present circumstances. Barcelona are also thought to be interested and have been tipped to make a move in the winter window.
READ MORe: Arsenal urged to box clever over star now ‘a different version’ of himself
The post Man City dithering gives Arsenal hope over Barcelona winter target appeared first on TEAMtalk.