Raheem Sterling joined Arsenal on a season-long loan on deadline day, leaving Chelsea. The forward made his first appearance for the Gunners in the North London derby this weekend. Ex-Chelsea man Glen Johnson believes Sterling will perform better under Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal are fresh off a 1-0 win over Spurs in the derby and are two points off league leaders Manchester City ahead of their game this Sunday. A game Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes the team are prepared for after seeing how they performed against Spurs in the absence of key players.
Fans were concerned when the Gunners loaned out Reiss Nelson to Fulham and sold Emile Smith Rowe on a permanent deal. The squad was a bit light on attacking options before Sterling joined the club on loan. Now, Glen Johnson believes the arrival of the 29-year old could be a master stroke.
Chelsea did not treat Premier League winner with respect
Things were not ideal at Chelsea at the end of the transfer window. Raheem Sterling and his team publicly put out a statement asking about Enzo Maresca’s plans for the winger this season. He was sent to train away from the first team before he started talks with Arsenal.
This is what Maresca said in a press conference after the statement was published:
“We’re going to see. Because I prefer to be honest with the player, with Raheem, I’ve been exactly the same,” he told reporters. “The ones who are not involved, they are all players who are not going to be involved and they don’t get any minutes in case they stay. I don’t know what happens when the window closes. We will see who is here and who is not here. The only thing I can say is the ones who are going to get minutes are the ones who I think can help us.”
Raheem Sterling will flourish under Arteta – Glen Johnson
After being publicly criticized during his last few days at Stamford Bridge by Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, Arsenal moved fast to secure his signing before the window closed. Glen Johnson believes Mikel Arteta’s trust in Sterling will see him regain his form from previous seasons:
“He’ll definitely benefit from the move because Mikel Arteta has already come out and stated just how much he loves him and sometimes that’s what Raheem needs to hear,” Johnson said.
“You don’t become a bad player overnight and I have no doubt that he can still perform.
“If the manager is openly speaking about how happy he is that you’ve joined, especially at a big club like Arsenal, then that’s only going to give Raz a lot of confidence
“If he’s happy and gets plenty of game time, then I’m sure he can bounce back.”
Sterling would have to get up to speed quickly as Arsenal have a huge task ahead of them, facing Atalanta, Manchester City and Bolton in the next seven days.
