Sterling

invisibleman18

Said my bit in the transfer threads. I'm disappointed the best we could do for a forward was wait to see what Chelsea were throwing out on deadline day. Is it a budget issue and we simply can't afford what a top goalscorer costs or are we still not seen as an attractive enough option for the best players?

I don't see that he has much to offer on the pitch and fear we'll see the same kind of issues that saw him piss everyone off and get frozen out at Chelsea. But obviously hope I'm wrong and he plays well enough that we want to keep him. I seem to be the only one not happy so must be missing something. He's here now so have to keep an open mind.

Clrnc

invisibleman18 I am not going to be the annoying Mr Sunshine to pretend that Raheem was our dream signing and everything is amazing and all, which is always the case when we signed a player none of us wanted from our rival before suddenly saying he's a world beater.

But...

Let me show you some positives.

First:
Misconception that Raheem was finished at Chelsea. Deep dive into the stats and he wasn't. Sure he isn't a world beater like last time, but he is still very servicable. I am going to make a bold prediction that he is not only going to be a Nelson replacement, but he will take Martinelli place in many games.

Look at his performances

If he can have the impact Benayoun had (coincidentally the last player that played for the big 3), we will be laughing ourselves to some trophies this year. It's quite obvious we don't want him permanently, otherwise we would have inserted a clause in as the wide player we really want should be more available next season so for one year there's probably nobody better than Sterling in the market. Have I also mentioned Arteta loves him and vice versa?

Look at his stats man, this guy is no Willian. In fact the last 2 signings we did from Chelsea all turned out great. Jorginho really kick started our league challenge and Havertz was our top 3 players in the 2nd half of the season clearly.

awooga83

invisibleman18 I'm pretty much at the same place as you. I thought we were targeting that forward role to really add some higher quality rather then a floor raiser. He's better then Nelson and will be an option in general games but is he a difference maker for those games we struggle I don't see it. Watching him last year at Chelsea he looked terrible was a real negative impact fighting with team mates and his quality really deteriorated so at the time I was thinking they are lumbered with this player for a while which is good for us as a rival. 8 goals in the league last year doesn't look like it'll shift the dial.

I also don't believe that he can have be part of a serious plan if we were scrambling around in deadline day so what was the approach for upgrading attack supposed to be. I've seen people say if we can't get our top target then we should keep our powder dry but we've pretty much not done that at the back getting targets then deciding or following up on preferred option anyway so outlaying further cash.

I'm really not sure how he'll fit Arteta's Arsenal either but that's what we'll see I guess. It doesn't give me a great feeling on the window as a whole to pick up a player frozen out by Chelsea who looked well past his heights last season to me but it's where we are. See what he does now over the season.

RocktheCasbah

As I've said elsewhere, I think that all he has to do is be trusted by Mikel to take some of the load off Saka in a way that Nelson wasn't (which he will be) and I think he'll be a positive move. As it happens, I think we'll get more out of him than that, I believe he can play across the front line too, so whilst I would have been really excited to see him with for us five years ago, I'm still pretty excited to see what he can do.. Saka/ Sterling/Martinelli/Trossard is a pretty tasty gang of four.

IBL

Honestly never thought I'd see the day when Sterling would be in an Arsenal shirt.

If Arteta can get him close to his City levels then we have a good player here, just hope he can unlearn some of the rubbish I've seen him do at Chelsea.

Kel Varnsen

My only worry about him, is his defensive contribution. Arteta wants his wingers to press, cover space, and track runners.

Dragan

Wont be surprised if within a couple of months Sterling becomes our first choice LW while Martinelli comes on to rest Saka in the last 15 minutes of matches.

invisibleman18

Clrnc thanks for this. My initial annoyance was disappointment at going into another season without a goalscorer and it's where I think we'll fall short of the title. But softened a bit on this now. I still don't expect much but can appreciate it's low risk given it's a loan, he's proven in the EPL and is essentially replacing the position of someone who didn't contribute anything and barely even played. Hopefully he can provide something. I'm just burned by previous bargain bin signings from Chelsea like Willian and Luiz.

Panda

Happy with this. Very low risk addition. If he isn't any good for us he'll be back at Chelsea next summer.

I have a feeling we won't want him to go though. I think he'll be very good and will probably get around 15 G/A in all competitions.

Unfair to judge him on his time at Chelsea, that place is a mess and they treat the players like dirt. I actually think that will make him even more grateful and excited for this move and there is no way he will have "attitude" issues here as he'll be a valued and accepted member of the squad. Do people seriously think he is going to demand the ball from Saka or Odegaard to take a penalty?

We now have Trossard, Jesus and Sterling as attacking cover. 3 versatile options that should help plug any gaps that appear over the season through form/fitness/suspension issues.

Welcome Raheem ❤️ hope you enjoy your time at Arsenal!

Don Pacifico

Remember being linked to him when he was at QPR. Feels weird that he's going to play for us now. Overall, think we got a good deal.

Clrnc

Don Pacifico He looks so natural in red.

Don Pacifico

Clrnc agreed. He's not the signing we wanted at the start of the window but given all the variables associated with this deal, I think it should work out well for us. Worst case scenario, he's an upgrade on Nelson who never played. Best case scenario, he's an upgrade.on Martinelli who helps us rest Saka from time-to-time.

Clrnc

Don Pacifico

The UCL teams won't know what hit them, with these 2 terrorising them on the wings. Great telepathy in many instances.

Us giving him number 10 also shows that he will be important for us

Claudius

Clrnc power up. Ability to keep intensity up for 990 minutes. Especially as games open. We can start Trossard and Saka. And finish Sterling and Martinelli. Or various permutations thereof. As an opposing manager, it probably means you have to waste 1 or 2 subs on fullbacks. Or die.

goon

He’s not who I would have chosen but I’m actually quite excited by this now. Peak Raheem Sterling was world class, we just need a taste of that.

Sicario2 - Tier 1

Signing Sterling will hopefully be a shrewd move especially when the economics of the deal are so low risk. As Clrnc said it dramatically changes how you view the transfer window because also for me his signing means we have gone from a 3-4 out of 10 to a solid 7/10 summer window.

What I like about our signings this season is that apart from Calafiori we have signed players that have won trophies:

Neto - won seria a, Italian and Spanish domestic cups
Merino - Euros
Sterling - 4 league titles, countless domestic cups

Look at the other players we’ve signed in the last 18 months:

Jorginho: Euros, CL
Havertz: CL
Rice: UCL (as winning captain)
Raya: Euros
Timber: Dutch league and cup

This is backed up by the like of serial winners in Jesus and Zinny. Thomas Partey has won the EL and La Liga. Winners throughout the team, so important for the mentality, compare this to a few years ago it’s drastically changed when we only had a select few that won things.

We need to win some trophies for : Gabriel, Saliba , White, Trossard, Martinelli, Odegaard and esp Saka (fa cup run he hardly contributed and was too young).

Sterling adds to the winning mentality. Sterling’s enemy (Chelsea) is our enemy. Let’s go.

lorddulaarsenal

Younger than Trossard ya know

Sicario2 - Tier 1

Mirth

invisibleman18 I'm just burned by previous bargain bin signings from Chelsea like Willian and Luiz.

Since Chelsea took on new owners, their talent ID has fallen off as well. Jorginho and Havertz have been good signings.

RocktheCasbah

Mirth think also, given how crazy Chelsea are with signing new players, we're not now in the position we were in previously where we were signing players they were happy to dispense with cos they were past it. They're happy to dispense of the likes of Jorginho, Havertz and Sterling because they can't stop buying new players. It's like an illness.

I also think we're buying these players now with a plan for how to use them, even if plan A doesn't always work (as with Havertz), rather than just because they're available.

Claudius

RocktheCasbah exactly. Late stage Wenger on his one year contracts was just filling the squad with geezers. Arteta is working against a plan.
Look at our squad now. After 4 years of planned building, everyone has a clear role. There are no longer any hangers on like Cedric

daredevil

Claudius

This is the best squad we've ever had since the Invincibles era, probably even better.

All of the players we have as backups have made significant contributions in the past two seasons and are credible first team options.

Ironically, the worst backup player we have is Neto. Should have also bought Joan Garcia and pissed everyone off.