He was in attendance at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday to watch on as his team were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw with Brighton. The transfer had come about at such short notice that Mikel Arteta wasn't even present at London Colney to greet him when he signed. The pair will be spending plenty of time together across the next couple of weeks though.
"We have to see him, speak to him (about) what he's been doing and how he's feeling about it and try to find quick wins to get him up to speed as quickly as possible and for him to understand what we are looking for from him in the dynamics of the team," Arteta said when asked about his deadline day arrival on Saturday. "We will use that time to do that and get him involved as soon as possible."
Sterling will not be the only player being put through his paces at London Colney over this next fortnight. Like Sterling, Ben White has not been involved in an England squad since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. There was a suspicion that Gareth Southgate's departure may herald a return to the group for White, but he has once again been omitted by interim boss Lee Carsley.
Sterling is also not the only deadline signing who Arsenal will be looking to get up to speed. Brazilian goalkeeper Neto arrived to provide competition to David Raya in the coming weeks. With Alisson and Ederson ahead of him in the pecking order, it's no slight on the 35-year-old that he's not been included for the Selecao.
Putting him through his paces will be fellow Samba stars Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus. Martinelli was left out of the Brazil squad after a below par start to the season by his own high standards. Jesus meanwhile is struggling with a groin injury, although Arteta has been positive about the 27-year-old's recovery.
"He is progressing really well," the Spaniard said of his forward's recovery. "He had a little muscle injury (groin) and he is doing quite a lot of stuff already, so we expect him to be with us pretty soon."
Can Arsenal play Raheem Sterling vs Chelsea as Premier League transfer and loan rules explained
Also in the treatment room will be summer signing Mikel Merino. The Spaniard was desperately unfortunate to fracture his shoulder in his first training session after arriving from Real Sociedad last week and is likely to be out for up to two months.
Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu are longer term absentees. The Scottish international is still out for a while with the hamstring injury he sustained during Scotland's exit from the Euros, while Tomiyasu hasn't resumed training after suffering a knee injury in the summer.
Finally Leandro Trossard will be with Arteta on the training ground over the next few weeks. The 29-year-old was left out of the Belgium squad as manager Domenico Tedesco looks to blood a few youngsters over the next couple of weeks.
0 Comments