Ian Wright hopes Raheem Sterling can take his chance with Kai Havertz injured

Ian Wright fears Raheem Sterling could “go out with a whimper” unless the forward finds a way to make his Arsenal loan a success and steps up following Kai Havertz’s “devastating” injury.

Mikel Arteta’s Gunners are seven points behind leaders Liverpool in the Premier League title race and have seen hopes of catching them dented by some key attacking injuries.

Bukayo Saka has been out since December with a hamstring issue and Gabriel Jesus last month saw his campaign brought to a premature end by an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Arsenal tried to sign Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins during a fruitless winter window that been followed by Havertz suffering a season-ending hamstring injury during a training session in Dubai last week.

The Germany international is the Gunners’ top scorer with 15 goals in all competitions and the club have confirmed he will undergo surgery in the coming days.

Speaking before Arsenal announced the extent of Havertz’s injury, club great Wright said on the ‘Stick to Football’ podcast: “For Havertz to get it at this stage is devastating for him.

“You can pull a hamstring and that but something’s gone wrong where it’s ruptured to the point where he’s out for the season.

“He has played a lot of games for us and again you look at Arsenal and this is why I suppose with Mikel he’ll probably be thinking (he needed that attacker in). Without a doubt.”

Gabriel Martinelli is another attacking injury concern after the Brazil international limped off in last week’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg loss at Newcastle.

It leaves Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri and Sterling as Arsenal’s only recognised forward players ahead of Saturday’s Premier League trip to Leicester.

The latter is someone Wright is hoping