Mikel Arteta believes he can get his former charge Raheem Sterling back to his best.
Sterling could have been forgiven for being a bit bleary-eyed as he watched Arsenal face Brighton on Saturday lunchtime as less than 12 hours earlier the winger had been at Arsenal’s training ground, and it was gone midnight by the time he finally completed his deadline-day loan move from Chelsea.
Arsenal was always Sterling’s preferred destination after he was bombed out by Chelsea and he is eager to hit the ground running under Mikel Arteta as the latter had watched the 1-1 draw with Brighton in a box at Emirates Stadium, accompanied by his partner and children, and was keen to meet his new team-mates after the game.
Sterling knows several of them from his time at Manchester City, such as Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, while he has good relationships with Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice from England camps.
The 29-year-old is excited to link up with them at Arsenal and wants to use this international break to get up to speed so he can be ready to face Tottenham on September 15. He has asked to train throughout the next fortnight, conscious that he has not played any football since pre-season. This two-week window gives him a chance to build his fitness and study Arsenal’s patterns of play, and he was back at the training ground on Monday.
After being stripped of his No. 7 shit at Chelsea and told to train away from the rest of the squad, Sterling has been working one-on-one with Ben Rosenblatt, who was England’s lead physical performance coach before stepping down last year.
Sterling usually works with Rosenblatt during the off-season and has helped him stay sharp during a difficult period.
Arsenal had been offered the chance to sign him or Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman, and it was not until late afternoon on Friday that they made their move for Sterling.
Six Premier League clubs had expressed an interest in Sterling, who turned down lucrative offers from Saudi Arabia in the middle of last week. But Arsenal were always his No1 choice.
The Gunners are delighted with the deal they have struck, paying no loan fee and securing a favourable split with Chelsea when it comes to Sterling’s £300,000-a-week wages.
Arsenal believe he can provide competition across the forward line, even as a false nine if required.
Crucially, it should provide Arteta with the opportunity to rest Bukayo Saka, who played just under 3,000 minutes in the Premier League last season. Sterling, however, will back himself to play alongside Saka as he can operate on the left flank.
He is a proven winner, having claimed four Premier League titles at Manchester City, and that experience is viewed as a valuable addition as Arsenal’s young squad try to get over the line this season.
Arteta has an excellent relationship with Sterling from their time together at City and gave the move the green light, with sporting director Edu leading talks with the player.
Sterling is thrilled to be working under Arteta again. It was during Arteta’s time at City that he produced his best numbers in front of goal and Arteta played a vital role in that, working one-on-one with him. He believes his move to Arsenal can resurrect his England career and viewed it as a no-brainer when their interest became concrete.
The fact he has not had to uproot his young family was also important.
Sterling is excited by the project under Arteta and their position fighting for the title and competing in the Champions League. He did not want to be part of a rebuild after leaving Chelsea.
Sterling is competitive and ambitious to fight for honors now – something he believes he can at Arsenal.