Chelsea and Arsenal want Sterling – But is he ideal the solution their goalscoring problems?

Man City star for sale 

Manchester City have already made one of the biggest transfers of the summer window, following their €60 million capture of Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland. However, the arrival of the Norway international is likely to have huge ramifications on Pep Guardiola’s squad and could lead to another star making a big move this summer. 

Perhaps the most obvious candidate is none other than England international Raheem Sterling, who was heavily linked with a departure from the Premier League giants for some time now and will now surely opt for a move this summer following the arrival of a new first-choice striker. According to the BBC, the leading contenders are Chelsea, while Arsenal remain just as interested according to reports in England. 

However, what’s most intriguing about Sterling’s current predicament is that the interested clubs would more than likely be hoping to use the 27-year-old talent as a striker, despite the England international spending much of his time at Man City as an attacking midfielder or wide forward. So could Sterling really be the striker Chelsea and Arsenal need next season? 

Arsenal and Chelsea are both reportedly keen on signing Man City forward Raheem Sterling this summer

And a quick look at his stats would explain why… pic.twitter.com/I9whtMfDfj

— Transfermarkt.co.uk (@TMuk_news) June 23, 2022

Up front or on the wings – Sterling’s best position for Man City

Although Sterling began his career at Liverpool as a traditional winger, he has undoubtedly developed into a more malleable player under Guardiola’s guidance at Man City and has often been tasked with playing a number of positions. One such role has been as a traditional No.9, tasked with scoring goals in the box. However, while Sterling may not exactly refer to himself as a poacher or classic striker, his stats do suggest that he’s actually quite good at it. Since making the move to Man City, Sterling has played as a No.9 in 2036 minutes of football and in that time he’s scored 14 goals and bagged a further six assists. Which works out at a very impressive 0.62 goals per 90 minutes and 0.88 goals and assists per 90. 

While that may not be as impressive as his record as a right winger (1.01 goals and assists per 90), it’s still more than good enough for either Chelsea or Arsenal if Sterling can maintain that kind of strike rate at the front of their attacking line. And if so, the England international may be the perfect attacking addition to their squads this summer. 

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