Ian Wright tells Arteta signing to leave Arsenal: ‘It’s not happened nowhere near enough’

Joe Williams
Arsenal legend Ian Wright
Ian Wright on punditry duty with ITV.

Ian Wright thinks Arsenal winger Raheem Sterling should look for a new club as it looks likely the Gunners won’t “sign him long-term”.

Sterling was a low-risk signing in the summer with Arsenal fans hoping they might see the best of the ex-Manchester City after he signed on a season-long loan from Chelsea.

But it has not turned out like that with Sterling making just three Premier League starts, despite Arsenal’s injury issues, with the Englishman contributing one goal and two assists in 14 matches in all competitions this term.

Sterling came off the bench for Arsenal for eight minutes of their 2-2 draw against Aston Villa on Saturday and picked up a yellow card as Mikel Arteta’s side dropped more points in the title race.

And Wright reckons Sterling should start thinking about his future as it seems clear that Arsenal won’t be signing him on a permanent basis in the summer.

Speaking on his podcast, Wright said: “Raheem is having a tough time. I thought it might have turned for him after that little cameo against Man United, he looked sharp. That was the guy we want to see.

“It’s not happened nowhere near enough, that’s fair to say. The way it looks, you get the impression that we’re not going to sign him long-term.

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“So what has he got to lose other than to get on it and blast it? I would love to see him go to that place.

“That would give the fans and show he’s trying, that’s what they want to see. When he joined, I thought it was a perfect move.”

Despite slipping six points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand on the Gunners, Wright still has full faith in Arsenal boss Arteta.

Wright added: “To the board, I still have 100% faith in what this man is capable of doing, he’s brought us so close,’ Wright said. ‘But he needs some help.

“We might not get something in January but it’s imperative that they make some major additions in the summer.

“You need to match the players’ ambition off the pitch. This squad is on its knees, the board has to do something.”

Wright continued: “I feel very nervous unfortunately because the energy around the club. Everyone is very nervous and very worried.

“I think that stems from the pressure we put on ourselves at the start of the season. As soon as a few games didn’t go right people were saying it’s over.

“I feel like we’re in that kind of mode. Everyone goes straight to the negativity but we have to back what this manager is trying to do and back the lads.

“We’ve got 17 games left. Are we honestly supposed to believe Liverpool are going to win all their games?

“I think Jamie Carragher said we needed to win 15 of our remaining games, we couldn’t afford to lose two games, now we can’t even afford to lose one.

“Why do they ramp up all the s*** about Arsenal all the time? And then the Arsenal fans just lap it all up.”