Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has lashed out at Raheem Sterling this week, while also implying that Arsenal have no need for the signing of the 20-year-old Anfield starlet.
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As the Daily Express reports, the Gunners have been strongly linked with the England international this week, after he turned down the offer of a new £100,000-per-week contract to stay with the Merseyside outfit.
Sterling even admitted that he was flattered by the interest from Arsene Wenger’s side, during an in-depth and controversial interview with the BBC this week.
Nonetheless, Carragher has told Sterling that he’s being naive to assume that he’d walk into the side of Liverpool’s Premier League rivals, speaking less than 24 hours before they meet in a crucial Premier League clash.
The now Sky TV pundit believes that the wealth of attacking options Wenger has at his disposal would see Sterling confined to the bench, a horrible fate for a player still trying to make his way in top flight football.
He said: “First, he was desperately naive to say such a thing on the eve of such a crucial game. He is also naive, as are his advisers, if he thinks Arsenal would guarantee him a regular place every week.
“What Sterling’s camp are struggling to see is that Liverpool is the best place for him. Forget money for a minute. This is about football and his development. He will start the vast majority of games at Anfield. Would that be the case at Arsenal? No.
“He wouldn’t play as a centre forward there ahead of Olivier Giroud or Alexis Sanchez. Being a No 10 would be out of the question, as he is not like Mesut Ozil or Santi Cazorla, which would mean a battle with Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott to start wide right.”
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