Gary Neville believes Raheem Sterling lacks the required “intelligence” to replace Kai Havertz as Arsenal’s striker, as Michael Owen caught strays in the pundit’s assessment of the Gunners’ crisis.
Arsenal were looking to land a new striker in January but didn’t try all that hard, with the sum total of their efforts a derisory £40m bid for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins.
And it’s come back to bite them, with Kai Havertz now joining fellow forwards Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka on the sidelines having torn his hamstring while on their Dubai training camp.
David Ornstein broke the news in The Athletic that Havertz is ‘set to miss the rest of the season’, he wrote:
‘It is unclear yet whether the 25-year-old will require surgery on the problem but his focus is on getting fit for the start of the 2025-26 season.
‘Havertz’s expected absence adds to Arsenal’s issues in their forward line. Bukayo Saka travelled with the squad to Dubai but is expected to be out until March after undergoing hamstring surgery in December.
‘Gabriel Martinelli is not anticipated to return for around a month after picking up a hamstring injury of his own against Newcastle United on February 5 and Gabriel Jesus faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in his left knee last month.’
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Neville was discussing who might be able to step up for Arsenal on the latest episode of Stick To Football, and claimed Sterling – who has struggled since joining on loan from Chelsea – no longer has it in him having been so reliant on the speed that’s not left him.
Neville said: “I think when a quick player, say Michael Owen or Raheem Sterling start at the age of 16, 17, and they get to sort of like late 20s, 30, they’ve already played a full career.
“So you think why they are like they are now is because most players come in when they are like 19, 20, and they play to the 34, and you see a deterioration, they are actually in their bodies 34 already.
Wright added: “So that’s why you are looking at someone like Bellingham, Saka, you probably think, wow.”
Neville: “Yeah, be careful, be careful. I mean, particularly players who rely upon speed.”
Keane then asked: “You say that, be careful, but all the top players play all the games, don’t they? Ronaldo, Messi, all these boys play the games.
“They play 60, 70 games a season.”
Neville: “So for Michael and, say, for Raheem, it’s difficult for them to adapt into a different type of role because they don’t have the skill and the sort of intelligence.
“They play off that speed and that sharpness whereas [Ryan] Giggs, he was adapted and he could go back into Central Midfield. [Paul] Scholes, he obviously adapted.”
