The 29-year-old is reportedly ‘very excited’ about his move to the Emirates and reuniting with Mikel Arteta, a manager Sterling knows well from his time at Manchester City.
Jacobs suggests Sterling’s late deadline day arrival mirrors Arsenal’s previous ‘opportunistic’ moves in the market, when the likes of Leandro Trossard and Jorginho joined on low-cost deals and proved to be key signings for Arteta in recent years.
Sterling is now prepared to be a squad player in the hope of building his game time throughout the season and eventually securing a permanent move to North London next summer.
Last season, the England international finished as Chelsea’s third-top goalscorer but was subsequently made surplus to requirements by Enzo Maresca, who publicly advised Sterling to depart Stamford Bridge before the transfer deadline.
Sterling will soon become only the second player in Premier League history to play for four of the big six clubs, joining Nicolas Anelka, who also played for Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea, with Paul Merson dubbing the signing "phenomenal".
Sterling ‘Very Excited’ to Join Arsenal
Set for a squad role under Arteta
Raheem Sterling warming up for Chelsea
Speaking exclusively to GMS, Jacobs suggested Arsenal could eventually explore a permanent deal for Sterling if the 29-year-old lives up to expectations at the Emirates over the next nine months:
“Yeah, it's possible. Raheem Sterling is very excited by the Arsenal move, a player that Mikel Arteta knows well, and exactly the kind of signing that Arsenal have done in the past, where they've seen opportunism in the market.
“And often it's those kind of players, Trossard, Jorginho, now Sterling, that have actually had huge benefit.
“So Sterling has not arrived at Arsenal, even with Reiss Nelson departing for Fulham, feeling like he's guaranteed to start all of the big games.
“But he's prepared to be a squad player, and he knows that he's going to be integrated into the culture and get a fair amount of minutes throughout the season.”
Sterling’s versatility could offer Arteta several options in utilising the 29-year-old attacker across his frontline. Over the course of his 379 games in the top flight, the Jamaica-born winger has played on the left wing 178 times, the right wing 131 times, and as a centre-forward on 40 occasions according to Transfermarkt.
Last season, he was mostly used on the left by Mauricio Pochettino, who handed Sterling 22 starts in the Premier League, with eight goals and four assists across the season.
Sterling became Arsenal’s second arrival on deadline day, with Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto also signing on a season-long loan to serve as understudy to David Raya and following Ricardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino through the door before him.
Raheem Sterling Chelsea Stats (2023-24)
Competition
Games
Goals
Assists
Premier League
31
8
4
FA Cup
6
1
3
EFL Cup
6
1
1
Gunners ‘Keep an Eye’ on
Joan Garcia
Could return for the Spaniard in 2025
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on the touchline
Arsenal could return for Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia in 2025 as they remain interested in signing the Spaniard, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has revealed.
The Gunners were credited with interest in the talented shot-stopper throughout the summer and lodged a bid in the closing stages of the transfer window.
Their proposal, however, fell short of Espanyol’s £25m valuation of Garcia, as the La Liga side held firm to his release clause and managed to fend off interest from North London for the time being.
Last weekend, Garcia helped Espanyol secure their first win of the season upon their return to the top flight, with a 2-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano.
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