An Arsenal hero has admitted he disagrees with Mikel Arteta’s decision to sign Raheem Sterling from Chelsea.
Sterling’s dramatic and unsatisfactory spell at Stamford Bridge came to an end on transfer deadline day, the ex-England winger joining Arsenal on a season-long loan deal.
New Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca told Sterling he was not in his plans, forcing the 29-year-old to find a new club before the summer transfer window closed.
Sterling was offered the opportunity to join Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal and jumped at the chance, saying he was ‘really excited’ to begin his Gunners career.
He has scored 123 goals in 379 Premier League appearances, starring for Liverpool and Manchester City earlier in his career and winning four league titles at the Etihad Stadium.
But Sterling’s contributions have dried up recently and Arsenal hero Emmanuel Petit has doubts over his move to north London.
‘No, Arsenal shouldn’t sign Sterling,’ Petit – who won a league and cup double at Arsenal – told Safest Technology Sites as the summer transfer window was drawing to a close.
‘Since Sterling left Liverpool, he hasn’t improved a whole lot at Manchester City and Chelsea.
‘Sterling can have big moments but there is no consistency in his performances. He still needs to improve his final ball and needs to score more, this is the main problem.
‘This is something that Mikel Arteta will not want in his team, he wants young and hungry players, Sterling won’t improve more than another young winger.’
Speaking about Sterling’s move to Arsenal for the first time, Arteta – who worked with the player at Man City – said: ‘We all know the qualities. It’s a big step for us.
‘We have brought in a top talent who has a lot of experience who can contribute to the team in a big way.
‘He has got these numbers because he was playing under a great manager with great players around them. If we do that he is going to score goals and cause issues for the opponent.’
Meanwhile, explaining why Arsenal pursued a deal for Sterling, Gunners chief Edu said: ‘To be fair, we never planned to sign him when we started the transfer window. Just to be very transparent.
‘But we always say we have to be prepared for every single scenario. So when the opportunity came to me, I checked how he plays, I spoke to Mikel [Arteta] of course, I spoke to Tim [Lewis] our vice-chairman to check everyone is comfortable with the step we are going to make.
‘It makes a lot of sense to have someone like him because I’m pretty sure he’s going to add a lot.
‘He has experience, understands more than anyone the league, played Champions League many times, won the Premier League a few times as well so I think he can add a lot to our squad and I feel happy to have someone like him in our squad.’
Sterling attended Arsenal’s Premier League fixture against Brighton on Saturday. The match ended 1-1 as Joao Pedro cancelled out Kai Havertz’s opener and Declan Rice saw red.
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