An interesting claim has now been made regarding the talks between Arsenal and Chelsea over Raheem Sterling on transfer deadline day.
The Gunners decided to take the England international on loan for the 2024/25 campaign after he was banished by Enzo Maresca – for no particularly good reason – at Stamford Bridge.
Now – however – it has been revealed that Chelsea actually offered Arsenal the chance to sign a different forward before the north Londoners settled on Raheem Sterling…
Chelsea offered Mykhailo Mudryk to Arsenal
Arsenal insider Team News and Tix now claims that Arsenal were offered the chance to sign Mykhailo Mudryk on loan before eventually deciding to take Sterling.
It is explained that Chelsea never actually had any intention of letting the Ukraine international – who cost the Blues an initial £62m in a move from Shakhtar Donetsk back in January 2023 – leave west London, but the offer was designed to get more money from Arsenal for the England international.
Team News and Tix state that Chelsea made it out to seem like Mudryk was moving to La Liga on loan – to strike some urgency into Arsenal – although it was all designed to run the clock down in an attempt to make the Gunners pay more to loan Sterling closer to the deadline, with less time to negotiate.
Ultimately, it did not work, and Arsenal signed the 29-year-old on loan with no obligation to buy him next summer.
Amazingly, Arsenal are also covering well under 50% of Sterling’s astronomical £325,000-a-week wages, so Chelsea are actually paying the man from Kingston more to play for the north Londoners than the Gunners are.
Raheem Sterling was the right choice
While Arsenal were obviously very keen to sign Mudryk before his move to Chelsea – as was well documented at the time – the Gunners were right to choose Sterling last week.
The north Londoners are so close to doing something special under Mikel Arteta, but just need some added experience and proven quality to push them over the line.
Sterling – with his 571 club appearances, 82 England caps and four Premier League titles – delivers that in abundance, as well as the ability to play anywhere across the frontline.
Every point counts for title contenders, and the fact Arteta has already worked with the Liverpool academy graduate during their time at Manchester City should also heavily contribute towards a smoother acclimatisation period for the attacker at Arsenal.
Hopefully, Sterling can fire Arsenal to at least one piece of silverware this season.