Arsenal expert Charles Watts believes the club have landed a top player in Raheem Sterling, who was an opportunistic late arrival.
Arsenal fans wanted their club to stay alert in the transfer window on deadline day as they wanted the team to sign a new forward at all costs. The numbers spoke of the need for a new attacker to come in, considering the Gunners had agreed to sell Eddie Nketiah to Crystal Palace. And in came Raheem Sterling.
The late window talks of Reiss Nelson potentially leaving sparked the possibility of Arsenal signing a replacement. They entered talks to sign Raheem Sterling in the late hours of deadline day and concluded by agreeing on a loan deal with Chelsea to sign the 29-year-old winger.
The move has received mixed messages from the fanbase, with the majority agreeing that this could be a good deal for the Gunners in the context of their season. Moreover, Sterling has reportedly taken a pay cut, although this necessarily does not mean he is not paid in full, as Chelsea will cover more than 50% of his wages while he plays in north London.
Edu Gaspar admitted that Sterling’s wasn’t a priority when the summer business began, although he conceded that it was an opportunity the club considered late on. The Gunners had to submit a deal sheet to stay in line with Premier League transfer rules before they found time to complete the other formalities like the medical and contract signings.
Arsenal expert Charles Watts on Caught Offside conceded that this was a brilliant signing for the club, given the options the market offered and the overall structure of the deal. However, he also admitted that this was an opportunity the club could not have afforded to pass up, especially when they were a bit short in numbers in the final third.
Charles Watts said, “Raheem Sterling’s move was a classic case of reacting to an opportunity. Arsenal didn’t go into the summer window thinking about signing him, Edu openly admitted that himself when he spoke to the club’s media team soon after the window shut. But having been unable to add to their attacking depth, the opportunity was there just before the deadline to try and do a deal with Chelsea because of Sterling’s situation and Arsenal took full advantage of that”
“Arsenal have landed themselves an excellent player, who can play anywhere across the frontline and who has the experience of winning four Premier League titles under his belt. And they have done it without having to pay a loan fee, without being tied into any sort of obligation to make the move permanent and by committing to only paying a fraction of his wages. It’s Chelsea who will still be covering the majority of them.”
“So there’s no doubt it’s a good deal for Arsenal. The key thing is though that they need Sterling to rediscover his best form during the year that he is with the squad. Hopefully Mikel Arteta can find a way of doing that and the signs are good, given we know that Sterling credits Arteta for getting the best out of him while he was with Manchester City.”
Sterling’s situation at Chelsea became unbearable following the banishment of the 29-year-old serial winner away from the first team. New boss Enzo Maresca did not count on the winger for the current season and beyond, as he suggested he preferred different types of wingers.
Sterling has numerous Premier League trophies under his belt while playing for Manchester City. During his spell at the Etihad, he knew Mikel Arteta, who was Pep Guardiola’s assistant, and it is believed that the Spaniard was instrumental in working with the attackers at the club then. Hence, this move could benefit Arsenal in a big way and help them challenge for the title once again.
