After Arsenal‘s late intervention on deadline day, Raheem Sterling has been presented with the ideal outcome and opportunity to rescue his career from cold storage.
He is able to stay in his native London and joins a club hoping to bridge the gap to Manchester City and become Premier League champions this season, with the added attraction of Champions League football.
New boss Mikel Arteta has never hidden his admiration for Sterling, saying recently: “We built a really strong relationship together at Manchester City. He was unbelievable at that time. He is someone I have really strong feelings about.”
It is a chance Sterling must have thought was a distant prospect when deadline day began, with reported interest from Manchester United and Paris St-Germain failing to materialise and options limited.
While it is true Sterling has not made the impact expected at Chelsea, he can hardly be branded a failure with his 19 goals in 81 appearances, including 10 in 43 games last season as they finished sixth and returned to Europe under Mauricio Pochettino.
Arteta has been in the hunt for added goal threat, and while Sterling cannot be regarded as a consistent marksman – though his career record is a respectable 173 goals in 549 games – Arsenal will be getting a player who will be highly motivated given the circumstances of his very public rejection by Enzo Maresca and Chelsea.
If Arteta can reignite the fire inside Sterling once more and bring him back towards his best, this shock transfer may yet be a masterstroke.
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