Arsenal legend offers brutal Raheem Sterling truth amid Kai Havertz injury

The time is now for Raheem Sterling to make something of himself at Arsenal, according to Ian Wright.

When the news filtered through that Arsenal's Kai Havertz was going to be lost for the season after suffering a hamstring injury, you could hear the collective groan from Gunners fans.

After a season that has been headlined by countless injuries, and after the transfer window slammed shut, just days later, Havertz went down; it was almost as if the football gods were playing a mean trick on Arsenal.

But as the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens, and with Kai out for the year, it gives someone else a chance to make a name for themselves.

Ethan Nwaneri, Leandro Trossard, and Raheem Sterling have been touted as the ones who Mikel Arteta will turn to in order to score goals for the Gunners, but do any of them inspire confidence to score consistently enough?

Not really, but Nwaneri is a fun option.

However, Arsenal legend Ian Wright isn't in a "fun" mood when talking about the Gunners' attacking woes, and on the Stick to Football podcast, he put the heat squarely on one player to step up in the absence of Havertz - Raheem Sterling.

"For Kai Havertz to get an injury at this stage is just devastating," Wright said via GOAL.com. "You can pull a hamstring, but something has gone wrong if it's ruptured to the point where he's out for the season. He's played a lot of games for us, and Mikel Arteta would be thinking that he needed to get a player in January. The opportunity that has arisen for him [Sterling], this is the time where he should buckle down and say, 'I have to make this work'. Otherwise, he'll go with a whimper."

Ian isn't pulling any punches here.

Sterling has been a relative non-factor since arriving in north London, scoring just one goal and grabbing two assists in 18 games in all competitions having been used largely as a substitute.

That doesn't exactly inspire confidence that he can come in and not only lead the line, but also score goals consistently for Arteta.

But that is the corner Arsenal has backed itself into with the lack of activity in January to the point where now it is forced to deploy the likes of Sterling and Trossard up top.

And that isn't a great place to be when you're supposed to be fighting for the Premier League title.

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