Arsenal has been plunged into a significant injury crisis following Kai Havertz’s injury in Dubai, which has made their title ambitions even more difficult to achieve. The Gunners were already struggling with squad depth after failing to strengthen their attack in the summer transfer window, and their inactivity in January has only worsened their situation.
Mikel Arteta’s side has been keen to win the Premier League title this season, yet despite that ambition, they opted not to sign a new striker last month. This decision has now been scrutinised, especially given Gabriel Jesus’ ongoing fitness struggles. Arsenal had seemingly placed their hopes in Havertz as their primary forward for the remainder of the season, but his recent injury means they are now left with even fewer attacking options.
The club’s failure to reinforce their squad means Raheem Sterling is now the most experienced attacker available. Though primarily a winger, Sterling may now be required to step up and take on the responsibility of leading Arsenal’s frontline. With the team still chasing the title, his ability to perform in this role could be crucial in determining their success in the coming months.
Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has weighed in on the situation and believes that the Chelsea loanee must now prove himself. Speaking on Talksport as quoted by Football Insider, Jordan did not hold back in his assessment of Sterling’s current standing in English football.
“Up you step, Raheem Sterling,” Jordan said. “Everyone tells you how wonderful you are. There might be a reason why Manchester City bounced you into Chelsea and Chelsea bounced you out to Arsenal. Now’s your opportunity to prove everybody wrong and earn your money.”
Sterling has often been a divisive figure, with some questioning whether he still possesses the ability to deliver consistently at the highest level. This crisis now presents him with a golden opportunity to silence his critics and demonstrate that he remains a player of top quality. If he fails to make an impact, however, it will only add to the doubts surrounding him and raise further concerns about whether he can still be trusted to perform at an elite level.
ADMIN COMMENT
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Put your hopes on a Sterling step-up and you’d stew in despair. The guy is just past it; he couldn’t even score a penalty offered to him on a platter.
You just can’t give what you don’t have, sorry
I hope by now Arteta has already started taking Rice and Merino through drills to fill in the C.F position.
Additionally, Tierney and Zinchenko should be practicing as forwards.
Sterling should be used as cover for all the 3 forwards.
They say Necessity is the mother of all inventions and that is where we are now.Therefore from now on,L.w(Trossard, Sterling, Tierney &L.skelly),C.F(Rice,Merino, Trossard&Sterling),R.w(Nwaneri, Sterling &Zinchenko )
I believe Liverpool will keep dropping more points as we go by and we still have a chance in this.Lets keep going.
quite an interesting take Cliff, I wish the gaffer can tap from your stream of footballing wisdom.
There is also the possibility of changing the formation, setup, and style of play. However, Arteta seems very comfortable in our current style of play, and prefers to change out players not alter the tactics or style of play.
Maybe Merino can be a false 9 target man? Unenviable position Arteta finds himself in without a doubt.
Would have been nice if owners helped out in January, but then again, would have been nice if Arteta helped himself last Summer.
No Odegaard cover after selling ESR, instead a 4th DM type midfielder in Merino was added. Also yet another LB in Calafiori when we already have 2 currently on the books.
Poor planning and decision making in the Summer, combined with injures to key players, led us to our current state. Jesus was never going to stay fit for a season, Havertz was never going to click and chase 20 PL goals, Saka’s injury was long overdue (in my opinion).
Personally I would love to see a DOF who put the club first, challenged or overturned questionable decisions, and addressed shortcomings like we see with striker position, backup RW, and an unbalanced midfield full of DM types and little in the way of B2B or attacking midfielders.
Sadly for us, Sterling is no longer lightening quick over the first 10 yards, and without his pace his technical deficiencies become more pronounced .Quite frankly I was amazed when our Manager decided to recruit him on loan, and the fact that he has not made an impression does not surprise me in the slightest.Having said all that I hope he proves me completely wrong during the course of the next 2/3 months.
This is the best opportunity for Sterling to prove himself. I am sure he is still capable of consistent performances and hopefully he does not let Arsenal down. He can reach the levels he had at City so I see no problem provided he can perform well consistently.