New Arsenal signing Raheem Sterling has been handed a shirt number he has never previously worn after arriving at the Emirates Stadium.
Sterling’s switch to North London was confirmed on deadline day after a stressful summer for the forward. The 29-year-old released a statement moments before Chelsea’s first game of the season questioning why he had been left out of the team.
Responding to his player in the week that followed, Enzo Maresca made it abundantly clear that Sterling would not receive any minutes at the club under his watch. Effectively, the winger was banished from the first team as he was forced to train with the U23s.
In a last ditch bid to find a new club, Sterling managed to be snapped up by his former Manchester City coach Mikel Arteta. The forward will be reunited with Arteta for the remainder of the season but it looks unlikely he will play for Chelsea again.
