Sterling was one of six new signings for Arsenal, joining David Raya, Riccardo Calafiori, Tommy Setford, Lucas Nygaard and Mikel Merino in moving to the Emirates Stadium.
Throughout the summer, Arsenal were heavily linked with signing a new striker with the likes of Benjamin Sesko, Victor Osimhen, Viktor Gyokeres and Ivan Toney among several players mentioned on the rumour mill.
Eddie Nketiah left the club to sign for Crystal Palace on a permanent deal, but the Gunners opted not to add a recognised No.9 to Mikel Arteta's squad via the transfer market.
According to TBR Football, though, Arsenal did try to sign a striker in the summer. It has been claimed that the Gunners made an attempt to bring Marcos Leonardo to North London before the transfer window closed.
The report states that Arsenal had shown interest in signing Leonardo when he was at Santos before he instead joined Benfica back in January for a fee reportedly worth €18million (£15million). It seems that the Gunners maintained an interest in the striker, but ultimately did not bring Leonardo to the Emirates.
Just eight months after signing for Benfica, Leonardo was already on the move again. It was confirmed on Monday that the 21-year-old had completed a permanent move to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal, with reports suggesting the fee was €40million (£33.7million), which represents a significant profit for Benfica on a player they only signed eight months ago.
Arsenal will now go into the first half of the season with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus as their main centre forward options. It remains to be seen if the Gunners will look to bring in a new No.9 when the transfer window reopens in the New Year.
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