Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has claimed that he needed very little time to decide to sign Raheem Sterling on transfer deadline day after speaking with him.
Sterling completing a shock loan move from Chelsea to Arsenal in the final hours of the summer transfer window last month.
The 29-year-old winger found himself out of Enzo Maresca’s plans at Stamford Bridge and it became apparent that Chelsea wanted him out before the transfer window closed.
Arsenal made a late move to sign him and agreed on a loan deal until the end of the season with Chelsea paying a part of his wages as part of the agreement.
There are question marks over the club’s decision to sign the winger but Arteta insisted that he made his decision as soon as he spoke with the player.
Arteta claimed that Raheem Sterling ‘really wanted’ the move to Arsenal
Sterling is desperate to prove himself at Arsenal after Chelsea moved shoved him out on loan and Arteta stressed that the player was more than keen on the move.
The Arsenal boss claimed that once he spoke to the player that it became clear that Sterling ‘wanted’ to join the Gunners and stressed that it took ten seconds for him to make the decision to sign the player.
“I knew straight away after ten seconds that we had to bring him because he really wanted it”, Arteta said in a press conference.
“After ten seconds I knew already before the next questions that we had to bring him here.”
Arteta is backing himself to get a tune out of Sterling, a player who he previously coached when he was Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City.
Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit is hopeful that the Arsenal boss can rejuvenate the winger as he did with Kai Havertz in the last season or so.
