Gunners won’t give up on England winger.
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Arsenal transfer news
Arsenal are reportedly keen to stay in the hunt for Liverpool starlet Raheem Sterling in this summer’s transfer window, despite previous claims that he may be too expensive for the Gunners.
The Daily Express names Arsenal and Real Madrid as Manchester City’s main rivals for the 20-year-old’s signature this summer, though the London Evening Standard claimed earlier this week that the north London giants were put off by his £50m price tag.
Arsenal’s club-record signing at the moment is Mesut Ozil, who joined for a fee of £42.4m from Real Madrid back in 2013 (as stated by BBC Sport at the time), and it seems uncharacteristic of Arsene Wenger to pay over the odds for players, with Sterling perhaps looking overpriced at the moment given his relative inexperience at the top level of the game.
Only brought into the Liverpool team on a regular basis last season, Sterling had an up-and-down second season in the Reds starting lineup, scoring eight goals despite often being one of the team’s main attacking players, and even making eleven appearances as a striker.
It’s fair to say Arsenal probably won’t be prioritising attacking players this summer as well, with defensive midfield and goalkeeper looking like more pressing issues for the club, who saw the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott all hit fine form up top at various points of the campaign.
However, until the introduction of Francis Coquelin in defensive midfield, Wenger’s side looked a little lightweight in that area, and their reported interest in Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin (via the Independent) reflects that need to add some depth. Elsewhere, the Daily Mail states that Arsenal hope to sign Petr Cech from Chelsea sometime in the next week, with the 33-year-old almost certainly being targeted as an upgrade on Wojciech Szczesny and David Ospina, who shared number one duties at the Emirates Stadium this season.
Still, the Express believe Wenger is a confirmed fan of Sterling’s ability, and is keeping an eye on his situaiton at Anfield this summer as this much-talked-about saga continues.