Jamie Carragher believes Arsenal will be put off a move for Manchester City legend Kevin De Bruyne due to his wage demands.
De Bruyne will leave the Etihad Stadium when his contract expires at the end of the season after a decade of service at the club.
The Belgium international has suggested he would have been willing to extend his stay at City and was ‘surprised’ at their decision not to offer him a new deal.
While he has been linked with clubs in Major League Soccer and Saudi Arabia, De Bruyne has not ruled out remaining in the Premier League, confident he can continue playing at a ‘good level’.
De Bruyne is unlikely to have any shortage of suitors but his current salary, thought to be £400,000-a-week, could pose problems.
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Asked if Arsenal should be weighing up a move for the 33-year-old, Carragher also suggested his recent injury record could discourage the Gunners.
‘I do think Arsenal lack someone of that ilk in terms of creativity,’ Carragher told Sky Sports.
‘People keep talking about Arsenal needing a goal scorer, no, they need someone to create chances for a goal scorer.
‘I think his wage demands have to come into it and the fact that Man City are letting him go is because the wages he is on and they can’t have someone on those kind of wages who is not going to play every week.
‘Over the last couple of years as you look at his injury record, as he is getting older, that is probably going to continue.
‘Arsenal, would have to look at his injury record over the last two years and that would probably put them off. But they definitely need someone of that ilk.’
De Bruyne missed almost five months of action last season as City secured a fourth successive Premier League title with Phil Foden and Erling Haaland stepping up as their most influential players.
He has started just 24 matches in all competitions this season but tellingly, has been left out of the starting XI in some of City’s biggest games.
De Bruyne did not start City’s Champions League play-off second leg clash against Real Madrid in February, also benched in the 5-1 defeat to Arsenal the same month.
Asked if he believes De Bruyne will remain in the Premier League next season, Carragher was not convinced.
‘I don’t, no. I hope he does but I struggle to think of someone who would the wages he wants or deserves when he’s maybe not going to play the majority of the games.
‘I might be wrong, he might be over his injuries but more often than not when a player has had injuries in the past and they are getting older, they sort of continue.’