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Gary Neville thinks he knows the reason why Arsenal didn’t sign a striker in January

Charles Jones

Thu 27 February 2025 8:55, UK

Arsenal’s title dreams look to be pretty much over.

Mathematically, Arsenal can still catch Liverpool, but, for all intents and purposes, the title race is over.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	28	20	7	1	66	26	40	67
2	ArsenalArsenal	27	15	9	3	51	23	28	54
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	27	14	6	7	44	33	11	48

Arsenal will look back on this as a season of missed opportunities, and, of course,this all loops back to the great striker debate at the Emirates.

Arsenal have needed a striker for a long time, but, in January, they didn’t bring anyone in.

Arsenal bid for Ollie Watkins in January, while Arsenal moved for Evan Ferguson at one point, but, ultimately, they didn’t make any new signings.

Speaking on Stick to Football, Gary Neville has been discussing Arsenal’s inactivity in January, and he reckons that Arsenal may have held off signing a striker in the winter due to the late signing of Raheem Sterling in the summer

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Arsenal didn’t sign a striker because of Raheem Sterling

Neville shared his theory on why Arsenal didn’t sign a new striker.

The pundit reckons Arsenal will have been burned by the signing of Sterling at the end of the summer and they didn’t want to throw more money at a stopgap signing in January.

“In the last part of the transfer window in the summer, I’m not sure the club wanted to sign Sterling,” Neville said.

“I’m not sure Arsenal, as a club, would have wanted to sign Sterling. I think Arteta has thought he can get him at centre-forward, left wing and right wing. I think that’s what he’s said.

“I think they’ve backed him, but that’s put them off doing a deal in January of the same ilk because they’ve already brought Raheem in , and if you’re not going to use him, then what’s the point of adding someone else?”

Raheem Sterling stats for Arsenal

Neville says that Arsenal won’t have signed a new striker because of how the Sterling signing worked out, and there may be something to that.

Indeed, Sterling was signed to give Arsenal that extra bit of depth and firepower, but, ultimately, he really hasn’t provided much to this team.

Sterling’s stats this season have been poor, and he’s clearly not up to the task of leading the line for Arsenal.

The reality is that late in transfer windows, the only players available are players that clubs no longer want for one reason or another, and, most of the time, there’s a reason for that.

Arsenal could have made an opportune signing in January – Evan Ferguson was ultimately available as he went to West Ham, but, then again, the Irishman has only scored one goal all season, so he wouldn’t have been the answer.

Arsenal need a striker in the summer, and they need to get this signing right,