“Part of the conversation” – Insider speaks out on Arsenal potentially signing Man Utd star in “crucial” January

Marcus Rashford in action for Man Utd

Arsenal insider Charles Watts has provided his insight into the Marcus Rashford transfer stories we’re seeing at the moment as it looks like the Manchester United forward could be on the move.

Rashford has endured a difficult time at Man Utd lately, finding himself out of Ruben Amorim’s matchday squad completely for the game away to rivals Manchester City yesterday.

It remains to be seen if Rashford can bounce back for the Red Devils, but it’s been over a year now since we really saw him at his best, so links with a move away are perhaps not too surprising.

The England international might not be performing well right now, but on his day he’s a top talent and also looks just like what Arsenal are lacking at the moment.

The Gunners aren’t really firing in attack, and it looks like an in-form Rashford would be ideal to give them more on that left-hand side, or at centre-forward.

Still, speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest Daily Briefing column, Watts played down the links and said he couldn’t see it happening, despite there being plenty of speculation of this nature at the moment, as well as at various other points in the past.

Marcus Rashford looks like too big a gamble for Arsenal

“Marcus Rashford’s name always seems to pop up when it comes to Arsenal these days,” Watts said.

“He always seems to be part of the conversation, certainly amongst fans anyway, and that might be the case again as we head towards January given what’s going on with him at Manchester United at the moment.

“Do I think he could be an opportunity for Arsenal? I don’t think so to be honest. I’m just not sure he’s what they need.

“If he was still the Rashford of a couple of years ago then my thoughts would be different. But if that was the case then he would be playing week in, week out for United right now.

“But he’s not and there’s a reason for that. So if Arsenal, or anyone else, were to move for him in January then they would be doing so in the hope that he could rediscover his best form again.

“It would just be a bit of a gamble. Similar to what Arsenal did with Raheem Sterling in the summer and that’s certainly not been a gamble that has paid off. Rashford would be a far more expensive one as well.

“I do think that Arsenal have to pull something out of the bag in January. It’s clear they need at least one other viable option in the final third, even if it’s a loan deal to get them through to the summer when they can really push for their main targets.

“This season has shown they need more. It felt in the summer that they had left themselves at least one attacker short and that was with Sterling’s late loan move factored in.

“The fact that Sterling doesn’t even seem to be considered for minutes now, even when the team is desperately in need of a goal, really shows that the squad is probably two attacking players short in terms of where it needs to be.

“So January does feel crucial for Arsenal and their ambitions over the second half of the season. It won’t be easy to find what’s needed, but they have to give it a good go.”

Arsenal could only manage a 0-0 draw with Everton at the weekend, and even though the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City have dropped points in recent games, it’s not clear if Mikel Arteta’s side really have enough to punish their rivals.