Arsenal

Joe Bradshaw
BBC Sport Senior Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

As Pat Nevin eloquently wrote on this page earlier, Raheem Sterling has no credit at Arsenal and is stuck in a "Catch-22 situation" where he is damned if he does and damned if he does not.

The frustration from the stands echoes what he experienced on international duty - once a key member of the England first XI and now cast off as a relic of a bygone era.

Still only 30, Sterling's career as an elite player appears to be in the past.

At the height of his career with Manchester City, Sterling scored goals at will.

Season tallies of 23, 25 and 31 between 2017 and 2020 poured cold water on previous criticism of wasteful finishing and he played a key role in City's constant trophy success.

However, as he moved south to London in the summer of 2022, so did his goal figures.

Nineteen in 81 appearances for Chelsea – albeit in chaotic and confused circumstances - was not what was expected. Since being ejected on loan to Arsenal on deadline day, he has one goal, against Bolton Wanderers in a 5-1 Carabao Cup victory.

Long a player whose every mistake is under the microscope, Sterling has lost possession with 26% of his touches this season. However, that is in line with his career average in the Premier League (27%).

Similarly, his passing accuracy is almost the same as his Premier League average (83.5% compared to 82.7%), suggesting he is not giving the ball away any more regularly than previously. It is probably reasonable to expect this from a player who is likely to take risks with the ball at his feet.

His dribble success rate for Arsenal is far higher than at any stage of his career (72% against an average of 47%). That is not even because he is trying fewer per game either – his average of four and a half dribbles every match is again on par.

It should be stated that all his Arsenal data comes from a very small sample size. But then that is the point too.

He has not exactly been flush with opportunities at Emirates Stadium, playing a mere 215 minutes in the Premier League and starting only three times.

In that time, he has had only 146 touches of the football and taken seven shots. As someone who, over a sustained period of time, has scored with about 17% of his shots in the Premier League, it is fair to say he is due a goal round about now.

That is backed up by his expected goals figure of 0.87, which, from his position in Bukayo Saka territory out on the right, he ought to get the chance to score.

Image source, Opta

A player with 82 international caps, four Premier League titles, an FA Cup and five League Cups has the pedigree to perform - and at the very least his numbers at Arsenal are better than what he provided at Chelsea.

Is there scope for him to turn his career trajectory around and play an important part for Mikel Arteta's side between now and the end of the season?

Success in one, two or even three competitions could depend on it.

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal have scored in their past 34 meetings with Wolves, since a 1-0 home loss in February 1979. It is both the Gunners' longest scoring streak against an opponent, and Wolves' longest run without a clean sheet against a side.

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game at Wolves (15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Arteta confirmed Myles Lewis-Skelly's has suffered "nothing serious" after missing Wednesday's Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb and "today, we will have a meeting with the medical staff", while William Saliba "is something similar". The defensive pair "will definitely be in for next week" but for "tomorrow we will see".

• Defender Ben White remains unavailable but his recovery is "very good": "He hasn't trained with the team yet but I think he's very close. He needs to tick a few boxes and, if all goes well and smoothly, I think he will be with us very soon."

• On continued links with signing a striker: "My opinion is clear - we lost two very important players in Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus. We lack goals, we lack people and we lack options. It's clear - if we can get the right player. That's why we are actively looking at it. Someone who makes us better. We need some help."

• On whether a deal can be done in January: "You have certain resources, the ability to recruit certain players, develop certain players, use certain players from the academy. It's a balance of what we can do."

• Arteta confirmed terminating the loan of winger Raheem Sterling or goalkeeper Neto and sending them back to parent clubs Chelsea and Bournemouth respectively is "not an option".

• On Saturday's opponents: "It will be a really tough match. They are a really good side, so we will have to compete. They are in a different moment now as well. Everything is important."

• On Wolves forward Matheus Cunha, who has been linked with a move to the Gunners: "I prefer not to talk about individuals, just the collective quality they have."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to full live commentary of Wolves v Arsenal on BBC Sounds from 15:00 on Saturday

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

A few hours after Justin Kluivert's hat-trick for Bournemouth at Newcastle on Saturday, I watched another player – someone with many similarities who once possessed that confidence. He scored 56 goals in two seasons for Manchester City, looking unstoppable for club and country.

The now 30-year-old Raheem Sterling's introduction against Aston Villa at the weekend was less glorious, bordering on painful. I had been at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday to witness the Gunners beat Tottenham and saw Sterling start the match.

It was not a bad start but many of his own fans turned on him the moment he made the slightest error or did not attempt to beat his man.

Sterling was then in a 'Catch-22' situation. Should he take risks with the ball, as every good forward must if he wants to create, but then risk the certain wrath of the fans if it doesn't work out?

Or does he play safe, which will quickly lead to the same berating from the stands. His confidence on the ball must be shot to pieces, knowing that if Bukayo Saka was out there doing the same things he would not be getting any stick at all.

Saka has plenty of credit in the Arsenal North Bank, Sterling sadly has none. Even so, he bravely tried to be positive when he came on late against Villa and again I was there down from Scotland to witness the pain.

With time ebbing away and Arsenal needing a winner, Sterling had a couple of positive runs but then lost the ball. All the frustration of the evening was then aimed at him even though he had just come on, hardly the main culprit for those squandered two points.

It will probably never work for him at Arsenal but he was the only realistic alternative striking option that Arteta had on his bench.

That wasn't Sterling's fault. That was down to bad luck with injuries but also bad planning for not acquiring more back-up for precisely this situation.

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This Premier League pursuit becomes a lot easier if you take your chances.

BBC Sport has checked in on some data comparing goals versus expected goals this season.

You can see from the bar graph some teams aren't finding the goals (yellow) to outstrip the expected goals they should score (black).

Tottenham, Manchester City, Arsenal, Brentford, Newcastle, Brighton, Fulham, Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Leicester have all scored more than expected.

Wolves in particular have found the net 32 times from an expected 23.56 - a significant overperformance.

League leaders Liverpool are pretty much bang on in returning what they should, while Arsenal have outperformed, with 43 goals from an expected 37.78.

Bournemouth - 36 goals from an expected 43 - are leaving opportunities on the table.

Arsenal left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko is expected to leave before the end of the window, with Borussia Dortmund eyeing a deal. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Meanwhile, Kieran Tierney is on the verge of agreeing a pre-contract to return to Celtic on a free transfer at the end of the season. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

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Image source, Getty Images

There is always talk around Arsenal needing a striker but they create more than enough opportunities to put games to bed.

When you do not take them, you leave teams in a game and then the chances are that the opposition pull one back and the momentum shifts.

It feels like they are going through a very similar spell to last year around the Christmas period. They have a high expected goals (xG) per game but they just do not kill games off.

That is part of the issue, but also they cannot deny that the game management needs to be better.

They missed Martin Odegaard when he was out injured and as he came back, Bukayo Saka was sidelined, so they have struggled with creativity building up to goals.

From open play, it is apparent they are not scoring as many goals and if you took away the goals from set-pieces, then they would be in a worse position.

Last season they had a back four that did not really change and they were defensively solid. They conceded the fewest goals in the league and that played a big part in them pushing for the Premier League title.

They have lost Ben White this season and maybe that is part of the problem down the right-hand side because they do look easier to score against than in recent years.

Arsenal have controlled the majority of their games but still looked vulnerable. They need that number nine to rely on when things are not going well.

Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

Alex Howell
BBC Sport football news reporter

Arsenal's strong position in the Champions League means that Mikel Arteta can start thinking about taking his side on a warm weather break.

Last season, the Gunners went to Dubai and after the break returned in excellent form as they took their title challenge to the final day, eventually losing out to Manchester City.

Arsenal are all but through to the last 16 of the Champions League after their win over Dinamo Zagreb and are set to finish in the top eight of the competition.

If they manage to do that they will avoid the extra two matches that come in the play-off round next month.

There is a break in the Arsenal schedule for Arteta to take his team away as after they play the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle on 5 February, they are not in action until 10 days after that when they travel to Leicester in the Premier League.

Arteta has spoken about how the break last season gave his side a massive boost and was asked about the prospect of taking his team away in this campaign.

"Yeah, if we earn the right to do that, that will be great, because obviously it's been a super busy schedule with a lot of demands and with things that happen, even more demands, especially on the players. So if we can achieve that it would be great," Arteta said.

Injuries have been an issue this season for Arsenal and they welcomed back Ethan Nwaneri and Riccardo Calafiori to the squad after a period out.

However, Myles Lewis-Skelly missed the Champions League game against Dinamo Zagreb with a jarred knee and is set to undergo a scan on Thursday.

We asked for your thoughts after Wednesday's Champions League game between Arsenal and Dinamo Zagreb.

Here are some of your comments:

Vince: This was how it should have been against Manchester United in the FA Cup. The same kind of dominance with a proportionate output of goals. But without a natural goalscorer, can we stay consistent in the scoring department? There's only about a week left in January.

Steve: Great result and great work from Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli, polished off with martin Odegaard getting his first goal for a long time! Couldn't be happier and now comfortably onto the knockout stages!

Guy: Good performance by all the team. The team looked a lot more effective with Ethan Nwaneri on compared to when Raheem Sterling was playing. It was good to see Kieran Tierney get some minutes as well. Sitting third in the table is good and avoiding the extra matches should be the main aim.

Webmeister: Arsenal may have defeated Dinamo Zagreb with consummate ease but old problems still lingered: in-game defensive fragility and poor finishing. They will have to address these in the next phase of the competition as they will be up against better sides who will ruthlessly punish them.

Rachel: Do the Arsenal coaching team need to take a serious look at training methods and investigate reasons why so many players are out with injuries? Very disappointing to see new players like Riccardo Calafiori have already suffered several muscular problems... is this usual for this player or only an issue since he came to Arsenal? Or are certain players injury prone?

Jeffrey: If it was a dull 3-0 win then that's fine by me. Better going home cold and happy. Good minutes for everyone that played - except Sterling. Not sure of the point of his presence.

Matthew: Defensively we didn't have much to do but offensively Martinelli looked fantastic and I was happy to see Havertz's performance too. Nwaneri coming back in and straight away - wow! The boy's electric!

William: Adequate but still lacking a striker. Finally we field Tierney, a genuine left-back who can run with the ball in a forward direction. Arsenal are never likely to succeed until they abandon their backwards/sideways thinking.

Arsenal have made a tentative enquiry about trying to sign 21-year-old Slovenia striker Benjamin Sesko from German club RB Leipzig. (Talksport, external)

However, the Gunners talks with Juventus over signing 24-year-old Serbia striker Dusan Vlahovic have broken down. (Football Transfers, external)

The Italian giants Juventus have also offered Chelsea the opportunity to sign Brazil midfielder Douglas Luiz, 26, who is on the radar of Arsenal and Manchester City. (Teamtalk, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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Arsenal sit third in the Champions League table heading into the final round of fixtures and are all but through to the last 16 thanks to their superior goal difference.

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, speaking to TNT Sports: "I'm very happy to win again at home and get a clean sheet, four in a row in the competition. It's a massive step.

"We're very close to achieving the goal we had before the group stage started."

On the collective ambition for goals: "Yes, I'm happy. We generated quite a lot [of chances]. Declan [Rice] especially, but he missed a few big chances, and really good from Martin [Odegaard]. His first goal [and] he really needed that.

"You could tell by the way he celebrated that he had an anger and a desire to do it, so overall a really positive night."

On Declan Rice's goal-scoring potential: "The last few games, he had some big chances. The more consistent he is in those positions, with the quality he has, he will score goals."

Image source, Getty Images

Since the start of last season, no team has won more home games (eight) or kept more home clean sheets (eight) in the Champions League than Arsenal.

Meanwhile, Kai Havertz has scored 14 goals in all competitions this campaign (30 games), as many as he managed in 51 appearances last season.

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal's Declan Rice, speaking to TNT Sport on sharing collective responsibility: "It's so important, I think the manager has been on us really hard about midfielders arriving because so many goals can come from there.

"It's down to us to make up that extra five, 10 yards.

"Martin [Odegaard] obviously did there at the end, I did for the header, so we've got to keep arriving there. Everybody's contributing.

"Look it was an important win tonight. It's been a very positive Champions League campaign, so we've got one more to go now, hopefully we can win that as well."

On taking the momentum into the second half of the season: "I hope so. What I learned from last year is that you need to be there or there abouts at this time of the season and we are at the minute.

"Look, we need to keep winning games. I think the game at the weekend, 2-0 up [against Aston Villa], we drew 2-2. It's a real kick in the teeth, we should be seeing it out but to bounce back tonight and win and now we go into Wolves."

"It's been a tough month but keep being positive and we go again."

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Arsenal's performance

Come back to this page on Thursday to find a selection of your replies

Two Premier League teams are in action in the Champions League on Wednesday, and we will bring you every moment.

• Arsenal v Dinamo Zagreb

• Paris St-Germain v Man City - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 20:00 GMT

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus has had surgery on his ACL injury.

The 27-year-old is set to miss the rest of the season after he was injured during the FA Cup defeat by Manchester United 10 days ago.

In a post by his partner that he shared to his Instagram story, Jesus is pictured in a hospital bed. Alongside the image, the Portuguese word for surgery, "cirgurgia", is written followed by a tick.

The forward has also posted on his own Instagram feed, external a picture of himself with crutches, with the caption: "There will always be answers to everything, which we will only know later on. I believe and trust in God."

The Gunners confirmed the extent of Jesus' injury in a statement last week.

The Brazil international has scored seven goals in 27 appearances for Arsenal this season.

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for you what one thing - good or bad - that nobody is talking about at Arsenal but should be.

Here are some of your comments:

Guy: I feel Ben White's injury isn't being talked about enough. The past two seasons our defence has been rock solid. Last season we conceded 29 goals in the whole of the Premier League season. We are already at 21 this season. His absence has made a big difference, he also offered assists and worked well going forward.

Dan: Forget Bukayo Saka's and Gabriel Jesus' injuries. I think White's injury has caused us more problems. Since he got injured, our defensive record has been quite poor compared to this time last season. Not only that, but he added so much more to our attack that I haven't seen from Jurrien Timber.

Rachel: Do the Arsenal coaching team need to take a serious look at training methods and investigate reasons why so many players are out with injuries? Very disappointing to see new players like RIccardo Calafiori have already suffered several muscular problems. Is this usual for this player or only an issue since he came to Arsenal? Or are certain players injury prone?

Will: Kai Havertz wins every aerial duel - we would and have been, far worse without him. The number nine isn't the problem. Liverpool score their goals from their right wing while our best player (who is also our right-winger) is injured and we have no-one close to that level to replace him. Injuries kill a team. We just have to accept that and go again.

Bob: Arsenal desperately needed goals from midfield and made the naive mistake of letting Emile Smith Rowe go to Fulham so they could bankroll the purchase of an incredibly injury-prone defender in Calafiori. He can be a joy to watch when he's fit and sharp - but with the history of the surgery he's needed, the warning signs were there that he was better suited to a slower league than the Premier League. Spending on him was a gamble that so far looks like it didn't pay off.

Will: Arsenal's lack of attacking recruitment under Mikel Arteta isn't for a lack of trying. Big money has been put on the table for Dusan Vlahovic, Mykhailo Mudryk and Benjamin Sesko in recent years, and deals haven't materialised due to players' preferences (and a huge bid from Chelsea). Whether any of those deals would have worked out is of course another question, but the narrative that Arteta and Edu have been neglectful in their lack of attacking signings is perhaps harsh. I think they've been a bit unlucky.

Arsenal have also shown firm interest in signing Wolves and Brazil forward Matheus Cunha, 25, in the January transfer window. (Fichajes, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

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