Raheem Sterling will be spending the rest of the season at Arsenal following his loan move from Chelsea on summer transfer deadline day, and the England international attacking midfielder cannot wait to get started.
The 29-year-old was offered to a couple of clubs, but joining the North London club was a no-brainer once the opportunity presented himself, with the chance to reunite with Gunners manager Mikel Arteta something he could not turn down.
The duo enjoyed their time together at Manchester City, where the Spaniard spent three years as an assistant coach to Pep Guardiola before leaving in 2019, winning five major trophies with Sterling.
The new Arsenal attacker is looking forward to playing under Arteta, revealing he has always been impressed with the former midfielder.
“He’s a top guy, a top character,” Sterling said of his new boss.
“I’ve been watching his journey because I spent some time with him at Manchester City, and to see him come in here and stamp his mark on this amazing football club, with this amazing history, it says a lot about him and the great job he is doing here.
“You can see the real togetherness, the journey that the boys are on, and the hunger. The togetherness is something I’m looking to be a part of.
“I’m really excited. There are always challenges and this is another challenge. It’s one that I’m relishing and I’ll really go out there and do my thing.”
Arteta admires the forward, and he did not hesitate to get a deal done once it was clear there was an opportunity.
“My time with Raheem was exceptional,” the Gunners boss said last month.
“We built a really strong relationship together. He was unbelievable at that time. He taught me a lot as well, about individuals, how the players think, how we support them. He is someone I have really strong feelings about.”
It had appeared that the finances involved could make signing Sterling tricky for Arsenal, but they have done so without paying a loan fee, and there is no option or obligation to buy him included in the deal.
Arsenal are also paying far less than 50 per cent of his £325,000 wages, with some close to the talks insisting it is as little as £100,000 a week.
It is a huge deal for the Gunners, and the player is desperate to hit the ground running, requesting to train throughout the next two weeks the while majority of the players not on international duty take a short break.
