England star Sterling, 29, told Arteta it was his “dream” to sign for Arsenal - and the deal was effectively sealed in that phone call. Arteta says Sterling is the ultimate big-game player and will be ready to throw him into the North London derby either from the start or as a substitute.
Gunners boss Arteta, who coached and brought the best out of Sterling in his time at Manchester City, believes the loan signing will be a huge hit because of his mentality and desire to prove a point to parent club Chelsea. Arteta said: “The first call I had with him I knew in the first ten seconds we had to bring him here because he really wanted it.
“That was my only question mark: ‘What stage is he at in his career?’ After ten seconds I knew already before the next questions that we needed him here. His first words were: ‘I was dreaming about this call.’ That’s it. That tells you that he really wants it and was already thinking about the possibility and he could see himself here, delivering and enjoying his profession.
“When that happened, the rest I knew about him, so that blew all the question marks away.” Arteta also says that he will have no fears about putting Sterling into such a red-hot environment like Sunday.
“It is one of the things I love most about Raz,” said Arteta. “You take him to any ground, anywhere in the world and he is willing to be there to make the difference.” Sterling had been left facing the very real prospect of being isolated at Chelsea without a squad number, no chance of playing and the indignity of a fall from grace from being a World Cup star to outcast in less than two years.
The last two seasons at Chelsea have undoubtedly hit Sterling’s confidence but that has also fired him up to prove a point while at Arsenal and Arteta says he can rebuild the winger’s confidence. Arteta said: “We are going to try to give him everything that we believe is going to help him and empower him to get the best version of him. We will see daily how that looks.
“That is going to fluctuate in everybody's career obviously. Knowing him and how he is about always playing, always being present and important. “When you have that status and role for that to be changed, that hits you. We have to rebuild that but we have all the foundations and right context for him to get to the level we want.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta with Raheem Sterling
Mikel Arteta was immediately convinced that signing Raheem Sterling was a good move for Arsenal
“What I see is hunger. He’s a player that wants to play every minute of every game. When that’s not the case, he’s not happy. He wants to play every single day and I see that. His commitment and the level of energy that he’s bringing to the team is a big boost. You can feel it walking through the door. We are better with him. He’s gonna make us better.
“He has this ability (to score goalsand the credit to that is him and the players he’s got around him certainly. He has that intuition and that will to do that. I’m sure it’s going to help the team.”
Arteta signed a new three year contract this week and has helped evolve the club into title-challengers with lofty ambitions. But the Spaniard insists he still wants more. Arteta added: “In the way that we all wanted as we wanted a very different club. We are in the right direction and we have made some huge steps.
“We have a lot still to make and I sense that hunger from the ownership to the board to all the players and all the staff here. This is the aim and the objective.”
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