Jamie Carragher assesses Raheem Sterling's options at Arsenal and Manchester City

Jamie Carragher believes that Raheem Sterling is making a big mistake by trying to move out of Anfield because he would be nothing more than a squad player in any of the top Premier League clubs.

The 20-year-old revealed in an interview with the BBC that he was not going to sign a new contract until the summer and that he was flattered with reports linking him to Arsenal, who are among the many clubs interested in his signature.

The Gunners have not had a congenial relationship with Liverpool when it comes to transfers, with their move for Luis Suarez falling through in 2013 after the Reds held firm on their stance and prohibited the Uruguayan from making the move to north London.

The move almost paid off as the Reds were only two points away from claiming their first league title in over 25 years, as they stuttered against Chelsea and Crystal Palace in the last lap of the season to hand the title on a platter to Manuel Pellegrini's side.

Their current season has not gone according to plan so far, with the absence of Suarez and an injury to Daniel Sturridge drying up their goals, while Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert struggled to get on the same page as his Liverpool mates.

Sterling has been among the brightest stars for the Reds this season but Carragher believes that his wage demand, reported to be more than £100,000 a week is not how he should go about his development. The midfielder was recently rated at £100m by Pellegrini in a statement assessing the value of English players in the Premier League.

"What Sterling's camp are struggling to see is that Liverpool is the best place for him," Carragher said.

"Forget money for a minute. This is about football and his development. He will start the vast majority of games at Anfield. Would that be the case at Arsenal? No.

"He wouldn't play as a centre-forward there ahead of Olivier Giroud or Alexis Sanchez. Being a number 10 would be out of the question, as he is not like Mesut Ozil or Santi Cazorla, which would mean a battle with Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott to start wide right.

"If he went to Manchester City, he would be a squad player again. City play 4-4-2 under Manuel Pellegrini, which would mean him competing with Jesus Navas and Samir Nasri to start on the right.

"As for talk about Bayern Munich (Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery) and Real Madrid (Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale), he wouldn't get near either of those teams now.

"Liverpool and Rodgers are what Sterling needs at this stage of his career. He should realise this. There is one change I would recommend he makes this summer - and it is not his football club," he concluded.