What prompted Arsenal to sign a clearly declining Raheem Sterling?

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·17 février 2025

What prompted Arsenal to sign a clearly declining Raheem Sterling?

The last time Raheem Sterling had a productive season was in 2021/2022, when he scored 13 Premier League goals. Since then, his performances have been on the decline, managing just 21 goal contributions in the league for Chelsea across 59 appearances.

This decline explains why Chelsea were content to send him on loan to Arsenal, having already deemed him surplus to requirements. For a club with title aspirations, should it not be concerning that they willingly signed a player whom their London rivals no longer wanted?

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Arsenal were convinced that they could reignite Sterling’s form and worked hard to secure his arrival on deadline day. However, it remains unclear what Mikel Arteta’s expectations were, given that Sterling’s form over the past two seasons at Chelsea strongly suggested he was not improving.

Now at Arsenal, he is struggling for game time, and when he does feature, his performances leave much to be desired. He often looks ineffective, failing to complete even the simplest of dribbles. For a player of his experience, a return to form should not take more than half a season, yet Sterling has shown little sign of real progress.

(Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

With his departure at the end of the season appearing inevitable, serious questions must be asked about the logic behind his signing. Arsenal have made similar mistakes in the past, notably with Willian, whose move also failed to deliver the expected results.

Sterling’s decline was evident before he joined, and Arsenal’s gamble on him now looks increasingly misguided. While the club may have hoped to rejuvenate his career, the reality is that his struggles at Chelsea were not a temporary dip in form but rather a sign of an ongoing decline.

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