'He does that': What Arsene Wenger controversially said about Raheem Sterling in 2017 is now very interesting

Arsenal have completed the signing of Raheem Sterling on a season-long loan deal from Chelsea.

The Gunners were in need of a new attacker going into deadline day, and fans were desperate to see someone come through the door.

It looked like nothing was going to happen on that front for most of the day, but Arsenal and Chelsea accelerated talks for Sterling, and the deal was done late in the night.

We’re sure Mikel Arteta is delighted to have the Englishman at his disposal, but we’re curious to know how Arsene Wenger feels about this move after his comments nearly seven years ago.

Why Arsene Wenger was once furious with Raheem Sterling

Sterling has been a regular in the Premier League for over a decade now.

The Englishman made his debut for Liverpool as a teenager and had a good time there. Then, he went to Manchester City for big money and became one of their stars.

Sterling won four Premier League titles with the Sky Blues, the first of which came in the 2017/18 season under Pep Guardiola.

Arsenal’s manager at the time was Wenger, and in a game between the two sides in November 2017, the Frenchman was furious with Sterling.

The winger won a penalty for City after Sead Kolasinac appeared to push him inside the box. Sergio Aguero converted the spot-kick and Guardiola’s men won the game 3-1.

Wenger was far from happy after the game and accused Sterling of ‘diving’ – a remark that left people at Manchester City ‘shocked’, revealed The Guardian at the time.

“I believe it was no penalty,” Wenger said in 2017. “We know that Raheem Sterling dives well, he does that very well.”

READ MORE: Financial details of Raheem Sterling’s move from Chelsea to Arsenal emerge and Edu’s played a blinder

Wenger once tried to sign Sterling in a swap deal for Arsenal

Sterling is finally an Arsenal player, but if Wenger had his way, he would’ve signed him back in the summer of 2017.

Alexis Sanchez was at Arsenal then and the Chile international had made it clear to the Gunners that he wasn’t going to sign a new contract after entering the final 12 months of his deal.

Guardiola wanted to sign Sanchez for Manchester City that summer, and during negotiations, Wenger demanded to sign Sterling in a swap deal (Goal).

However, no move materialised then and Sanchez moved to Manchester United six months later in another swap deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan join the Gunners.

Sterling ended up staying at Manchester City and went on to win four Premier League titles in the next five years before moving to Chelsea.