Mikel Arteta breaks silence on deadline day move for Raheem Sterling after transfer U-turn

Mikel Arteta is hopeful Raheem Sterling can replicate his best goal-scoring form from his time at Manchester City at Arsenal following his deadline day move to the Gunners.

Sterling completed a season-long move to Arsenal on Friday night after being told he has no future at Stamford Bridge.

A move to the Emirates reunites him with Arteta, who served as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at City during a period when Sterling developed into a potent goal scorer, netting 25 goals in the 2018-19 season.

The England international has struggled to reach those heights since leaving City, scoring 10 and nine goals in each of his two seasons with Chelsea since leaving the Etihad.

Arsenal take on Brighton in Saturday’s early kick-off with Arteta speaking for the first time on the club’s late night transfer business.

‘We are very happy with what we have done. Now we can focus on the match,’ Arteta told TNT Sport.

‘We all know the qualities. It’s a big step for us. We have brought in a top talent who has a lot of experience who can contribute to the team in a big way.

‘He has got these numbers because he was playing under a great manager with great players around them. If we do that he is going to score goals and cause issues for the opponent.’

Arsenal signed Riccardo Calafiori early in the summer with Mikel Merino arriving this week – with the Spain international immediately sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Sterling was not a name discussed at the club but Chelsea’s decision to move him on prompted the Gunners into action.

‘To be fair, we never planned to sign him when we started the transfer window. Just to be very transparent,’ Arsenal’s sporting director Edu said. ‘But we always say we have to be prepared for every single scenario.

‘So when the opportunity came to me, I checked how he plays, I spoke to Mikel [Arteta] of course, I spoke to Tim [Lewis] our vice-chairman to check everyone is comfortable with the step we are going to make.

‘It makes a lot of sense to have someone like him because I’m pretty sure he’s going to add a lot. He has experience, understands more than anyone the league, played Champions League many times, won the Premier League a few times as well so I think he can add a lot to our squad and I feel happy to have someone like him in our squad.’