Arsenal ‘explored’ signing £325k-a-week star last year, Arteta still admires him

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Arsenal are set to face Chelsea on Saturday, where they will come up against a player who could have been part of the away squad instead in Raheem Sterling.

The England International joined Chelsea from Manchester City last year, in the same summer where Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko both joined Arsenal.

The 28-year-old has not had the best time at Chelsea, and with the West Londoners finishing 12th last season, whilst Arsenal finished second, he may look back on his move with a bit of regret.

Mikel Arteta admires Raheem Sterling

A report from The Athletic has revealed that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who worked with Sterling during his time at Man City, still admires the £325k-per-week star, and Arsenal did look into possibly signing him last year.

“Raheem Sterling will run at one-time Chelsea target Ben White, knowing he still has a keen admirer in Arteta, who worked with him at the Etihad Stadium and explored the possibility of signing him a year ago,” the report stated.

Chelsea not only signed Sterling, but also recruited another left-winger in Mykhaylo Mudryk in January, whom Arsenal were also heavily interested in. With both players struggling to find their best form, Arsenal may look back on both possible deals as dodged bullets.

Could Sterling have succeeded at Arsenal?

It is perhaps tough to fairly judge Chelsea players given the sheer chaos they have endured both on and off the pitch in the last year.

Sterling was a world-class player during his time at Man City, but has been off-form for a while, which did contribute to his sale.

Jesus and Zinchenko have been two of Arsenal’s top performers since they arrived, and Sterling may have enjoyed his own rejuvenation under Arteta.

He could have added extra pace and goals to the side, and playing in a more attacking system may have suited him.

It will be interesting to see how both Sterling and Arsenal perform on Saturday, knowing that things could have turned out differently for both parties.