Chelsea issued a short statement in the early hours of Saturday morning as they finally offloaded Raheem Sterling for the season.
The winger made a late deadline day move to Arsenal after it became clear he had no future at the Blues whilst Enzo Maresca was manager. Sterling was a headline omission from Chelsea’s Premier League opener with their new coach later confessing the England international wasn’t part of his plans.
Sterling was then in a scramble to find a suitor as he looked to find a club where he would feature. He has now reunited with Mikel Arteta, who was the assistant at Manchester City when Sterling was also at the Etihad.
After his switch to Arsenal was confirmed late in the day Chelsea simply said: “Good luck, Raheem” in what may be perceived as a cold statement. The rest of the statement explained the move and read: “Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling has completed a season-long loan move to Arsenal. Raheem joined the Blues from Manchester City in the summer of 2022 and has scored 19 goals across 81 appearances. He will now spend the remainder of the campaign at the Emirates.”
Sterling had featured during Chelsea’s pre-season outings, which were largely underwhelming as they suffered numerous defeats throughout their American tour. He was therefore expected to feature in some capacity when they hosted City a fortnight ago.
His snub raised several eyebrows with the player’s camp later putting out a statement – which divided opinion. They claimed they were seeking clarity on how much involvement Sterling would have under Maresca, with the new manager doing so just days later.
The Chelsea boss said he “prefers different types of wingers” as he explained why he overlooked Sterling. The ex-City man was then stripped of his no 7 shirt, which went to new signing Pedro Neto, who is among the players to leapfrog him in the pecking order.
The winger will spend the season on loan at the Emirates
The winger will spend the season on loan at the Emirates
Since snubbing Sterling Chelsea boss Maresca has also seen Joao Felix and Jadon Sancho arrive, further adding to the competition in the wide areas.
The Blues, during their recent player turnover, have allowed several players to leave for Arsenal. They have all gone on to enjoy title challenges whilst Chelsea fail to even make the top four. 18 months ago Jorginho made the move to the Emirates and last summer Kai Havertz, who was once a statement signing, headed to the Gunners and went on to have a huge impact as a false 9.
