So the Arsenal chatter last night during the Liverpool v Manchester United game was the future of England striker Daniel Sturridge.

The discussion around Liverpool’s Sturridge centred on a rumour that he was to be Arsenal’s number one target next summer.

It was met with mixed response.

Half of the tweets I read were positive. They remember Daniel Sturridge the world class finisher. The new Ian Wright. The man who scored 31 league goals in 43 games in his first 18 months for Liverpool as part of the Sturridge Suarez Sterling frontline that nearly took Liverpool to their first league title in 25 years.

The other half were negative. Another Diaby was often mentioned. Pointing to the horrendous injury record which has seen him play just 18 league games in the last 2 seasons, and not play for England since September 2014.

Now his injury record is diabolical. But he is a talented player. So should Arsenal go for him?

On the face of it, I would tend to lean to a no, due to his injury record. We have had too many players who have been injury prone over the years. The likes of Rosicky, Arteta, Wilshere. And these injury prone players being constantly missing leads to too much pressure being put on those who do not have major injury issues. The likes of Welbeck and Giroud. Ozil.

This then means that these players play when not 100% fit are forced to play, increasing their chances of getting an injury.  And in turn leads to even bigger injury problems within the squad.

One of the key reasons why Leicester are top, Spurs are second, is due to their lack of injuries. Neither has lost a key player (Vardy, Mahrez, Kane, Erickson) for an extended period. It was the same with Chelsea last season.

In an increasingly competitive Premier League, keeping players fir is uber important.

So if Arsenal were to sign Daniel Sturridge, they would be signing a player who’s next injury is just around the corner.

But Daniel Sturridge is a class act when fit. And part of me looks at it and thinks lets take the risk.

Upfront our current options are Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck. Sturridge is better than both, when fit. But both are still very good players. Giroud has hit the 20 goal mark this season. What this would mean is that you could take the risk on Daniel Sturridge, knowing that you have sufficient back up to him were he to break down.

Sturridge would be the centre of an attacking trio that would potentially see Danny Welbeck on the right, and Alexis Sanchez on the left.

It would not surprise me to see Theo Walcott leave Arsenal this summer, maybe going the other way to Liverpool.

Arsenal would line up very attacking with that front 3. It would almost mirror what Liverpool played with Sturridge Suarez Sterling. Or England when they played Welbeck Rooney Sturridge.

What it gives you is a lot of versatility upfront. All 3 can play in the 3 front positions. Plenty of movement. Very hard to mark. Goals from all angles.

Sturridge would drop wide, with either Alexis or Welbeck dropping in the middle. Welbedk would drop inside with Sturridge dropping wide. And behind the trio would be Mesut Ozil pulling the strings. Conducting.

It would be exciting. It would be direct.

And then if Sturridge does break down, you still have plenty of options.

Giroud could come in, forcing a slight change in direction. Or Welbeck could go into the middle with Joel Campbell playing on the right, keeping the shape of the side.

Of course, this is all ifs and buts, Sturridge might break down in the next few weeks and the deal could be off.

There is a lack of top class strikers in world football at the moment. And even less that would potentially look to leave their current club. Despite his injury record, Daniel Sturridge might be the best option.

It is a quandary. If he does get fit, which he seems to be slowing doing, he is a brilliant striker. But we used to say that about Abou Diaby. We currently say it about Jack Wilshere. If they get fit, they are brilliant midfielders.

I think it is a risk worth taking.

Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC