Since he arrived on loan from Chelsea, Raheem Sterling has made seven appearances for Arsenal, scoring one goal and providing one assist.
Those returns came during Arsenal’s 5-1 victory over Bolton Wanderers in the EFL Cup – Sterling’s first start for his new club.
Of course, with time, Sterling will hope to impact much bigger games for Arsenal, the reason why Mikel Arteta decided to bring him to the club.
Sterling must have been perceived as an upgrade on Reiss Nelson, otherwise Arsenal wouldn’t have concluded late business.
However, after Sterling was sacrificed after William Saliba’s red card vs Bournemouth, fans are already itching for Bukayo Saka to return.
Saka would be missed by any team, but Sterling’s arrival was meant to make his occasional absence more palatable.
Arsenal already exploring options instead of signing Raheem Sterling permanently
That being said, according to journalist Charles Watts who shared his insight via the Daily Briefing, Arsenal have already begun looking at Sterling alternatives for next summer.
Watts said that ‘we know’ Arsenal are looking at alternative options out wide right now, and mentioned the links to Borussia Dortmund’s Jamie Gittens and Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo.
The journalist said it’s tough to conclude that Arsenal would be interested in signing Sterling right now, who will be 30-years-old by the time of the decision.
Were Sterling available for a modest deal, Arsenal might pursue the option, however Chelsea would surely require a fee for a player they parted with £50m for.
Similarly, Sterling has a huge wage packet at Chelsea, which Arsenal are only contributing a moderate amount of right now.
But were he to make the permanent switch to north London, all of those wages would be the Gunners’ responsibility.
Gabriel Jesus could become a long-term option for Mikel Arteta out wide
In the summer in question, many believe that Arsenal will also end up offloading Gabriel Jesus too in search of a new striker.
However, it might be too convenient to suggest that will find the right deal to sell Jesus, who wouldn’t be sold cheaply nor would it be in his interest to drop to a lower level of club.
Therefore, Arsenal might actually consider using Jesus as long-term back up for Saka, given the Brazilian was lively out wide against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Ian Wright called for fans to stick behind Jesus, and it would certainly be worthwhile if he is to stay around long-term.
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