Raheem Sterling joined Arsenal on the basis that #AFC would provide the stability he has missed at Chelsea, and he arrived in the capacity of an experienced player who could provide an alternative to Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka.
He was a winner who would add to the dressing room and would ease the burden on Mikel Arteta’s two first-choice wingers.
That role has become more diluted as the season has progressed, but it was clear after the first three months that this was not going to be a rekindling story.
Sterling represented a low-risk option for Arsenal at the time. There was no transfer fee, no loan fee and, despite being the highest earner at Chelsea, Arsenal only had to pay a minority share of his wages.
Chelsea’s willingness to lend him to a London rival and the way head coach Enzo Maresca ruthlessly discarded him after a full pre-season should perhaps have raised some red flags but Arteta personally pushed for the signing in the final days of the summer window.
Few envisaged him playing such a little part at Arsenal this season, but how much has Sterling simply dropped off, and how much has Arteta’s failure to give him an early run of games contributed to the lack of sharpness?
@JordanC1107@sportsbots.xyz, @SJohnsonSport@sportsbots.xyz and @SamLee@sportsbots.xyz
https://nytimes.com/athletic/61904…