Both Arsenal and England fans would be forgiven for thinking that Raheem Sterling was older than 29 given the narrative of his last few years.
Before he came to Arsenal, there was a lot of talk about Sterling behind ‘finished’, a winger who had already said goodbye to his best years at Manchester City.
In fact, Sterling’s appearances for England add to that idea too, the forward hasn’t appeared for his country since October 2022.
And shortly after he moved to Chelsea, it never really appeared as if the forward would add to his 82 caps or 20 goals for England.
However, moving to the Emirates Stadium is a new beginning for Sterling, who clearly has the appetite to return to the top of his game.
And perhaps Thomas Tuchel’s appointment as England boss could be the catalyst to reviving his career on all fronts.
Thomas Tuchel said Raheem Sterling was ‘horrible to play against’
Sterling arrived at Chelsea at Tuchel’s request, something he admitted in an interview with The Telegraph.
However, just two months after Sterling was signed, and only six games into the new Premier League season, Tuchel was sacked by Chelsea.
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The working relationship between Tuchel and Sterling was over before it started, and the winger’s Chelsea career drifted thereafter.
That being said, Tuchel’s comments when he signed Sterling perhaps suggest that the Arsenal loanee could still have a chance to play for his country again should he thrive in N5.
Speaking in 2022, Tuchel said: “He was the absolute number one for that position. I gave his name to Todd [Boehly] straight away.”
Tuchel was then asked when he decided that he wanted to sign Sterling at Chelsea.
He replied: “Every time we played against him. He’s horrible to play against, horrible! The main point is his intensity and the amount of repetition of intensity that he delivers. This is simply outstanding over the last years.
“He caused huge trouble when he played against us and once you dig in deeper into his data and not only statistics in his goal involvements, it’s outstanding. It’s exactly what we need to raise the level of our players. That’s why we are so sure and that’s why he was, for us, top of the list.”
Arsenal might need to turn to Sterling against Bournemouth
Owing to Arsenal’s potential unavailability crisis, perhaps there could be an opportunity for Sterling this weekend.
Sterling might start against Bournemouth given that both Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli picked up issues whilst playing for their countries over the break.
Mikel Arteta will provide an update on those injuries in due course, and Arsenal fans will be hoping that they’re both fit to be in the travelling squad at the very least.
It’s been another difficult international break for Arsenal in that regard, who are yet to have a full complement of players available in north London.
Although, Mikel Merino seriously impressed for Spain over the break, a player who might also start against Bournemouth.
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