Sterling can be used as a substitute in the starting lineup or on the bench.
Undoubtedly, the transfer of Raheem Sterling to Arsenal on deadline day was among the more fascinating transactions of the whole transfer window.
The Gunners signed the 82-cap England international on a season-long loan after the new Chelsea manager, Enzo Maresca, frozen him out.
10Raheem Sterling could make his Arsenal debut against TottenhamCredit: Getty
10His arrival adds some much needed depth to Arsenal’s attackCredit: Getty
And he has been reunited with Mikel Arteta, who helped turn Sterling into a prolific goalscorerCredit: Getty
10Arteta will be hoping for an instant impact from his new signingCredit: GettyDue to the significant amount of competitive advantage at risk, deals involving the big six teams are frequently few and few between.
Though Sterling has also played for Liverpool, Manchester City, and the Blues, Arsenal is the fourth big six team he has represented. Although there isn’t a requirement or option to purchase the 29-year-old, Arsenal has acquired an attacker who improves the quality and depth of their attacking options across the board.
Over the course of his career, Sterling has transformed from an all-around winger to an inverted wide player who can help the striker by being at ease in the channels and central zones.
Crucially, this implies that Arsenal has essentially acquired a wide attacker who will provide them with both alternatives based on Arteta’s desired attacking shape and structure.Arsenal’s wingers frequently hold the breadth of the attack by remaining outside and pressuring the opposing fullbacks to defend more widely than they would like.
Here, Sterling gets an isolated one-on-one with the ball before a central teammate has a chance thanks to direct play to the byline.This weekend against Spurs, Arteta is probably going to want to spread the Spurs defence line out before attacking through those gaps by using his wide attackers as options to stay outside, at least during the early stages of the assault and the build-up.Sterling might pose a serious threat because he is expected to open the game on the left side of the pitch and attack the Spurs right-back from both the outside and the inside.In order to get to their wide attackers who are isolated on the outside against the opposition fullbacks, Arsenal will probably try to build from the back and into the centre third of the play.Because Kai Havertz is their central striker and he works hard, they can employ their wide attackers in this way.
This time, Sterling intercepts the ball during a brief period of possession and slides it across the box for a tap-in.However, having players in wide areas with the kind of effectiveness that Saka and Sterling have on the right and left, respectively, ought to have a real effect on the game.Arteta will be able to create space centrally during the attacking phase thanks to Sterling’s versatility as a more conventional winger.Threat to the goalReuniting with Mikel Arteta at Arsenal will allow Sterling to rekindle his career, which seemed to be stagnating during his time at Chelsea.Sterling and Arteta previously collaborated at Manchester City, where the Spaniard is credited with transforming Sterling into a goal-scoring attacker.It was believed that a significant portion of their one-on-one practice sessions were around shot locations and asking Sterling to shoot from closer range rather than wider angles.Sterling will be aiming for a repeat of this phase of his career, which saw him improve his effectiveness in front of goal and take his performances to the next level.
Because he can curl the ball into the bottom corner when he comes inside, Sterling poses a threat from the corner.Nothing will stop him from scoring 10 to 15 goals this season as Arsenal pursues the championship if he is used frequently as a member of the starting attack.Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli, who usually played on the left side of the attack, were two players who gave Arsenal uneven play throughout the previous campaign.Of course, adding Sterling to the penalty area and the final third will improve the game’s quality and make him a more reliable goal threat.Pedro Porro is expected to start at right back for Spurs this next weekend. Although he is a potent offensive threat, he occasionally finds it difficult to contain direct attacking wingers.
Sterling makes intelligent runs to attack open space, and here we see him making a long run in transition to get forward.Using Sterling from the left of the attack, Arteta can establish a significant edge in this part of the game.
As the season progresses, Arsenal may find great value in having added a consistent goal source so late in the transfer window.
strategic intelligence
As we have already covered, Sterling is very effective when asked to stay wide and position himself outside of the opposition fullback, but he also possesses the flexibility in both movement and positioning to be able to drift and exploit the openings that present themselves to him on the pitch.
This basically means that Arteta will be able to be more adaptable in his offensive style when employing Sterling from either the left or the right of the attack.
In the North London derby this weekend, Sterling might feel more free to come inside and find gaps in the Spurs defensive where he can receive the ball and cause them problems if he chooses to start with a more conventional left-back who can move well up and down the wing.
When a player overlaps on the outside, Sterling is content to receive the ball in the channels.
A coach of Arteta’s calibre most likely will try to arrange the players in such a way that the fullback on the right side stays deep and narrow and the right winger stays wide, while the fullback moves higher and the left winger moves more inside on the left side.
Attacking overloads and opportunities can be generated in the attacking third by arranging and moving in this manner.
Here Sterling comes inside and positions himself in a pocket of space between four opposition defenders before turning out to play forward
Arteta has a lot more alternatives when it comes to setting up his attack since Arsenal was able to bring in a forward with the experience and production of an international player throughout his career.
They will be more unpredictable going into this weekend’s derby against Spurs as a result.
In summary
One of the most important decisions Mikel Arteta and Arsenal made this season as they attempted to catch up to Manchester City and contend for the league championship may have been the acquisition of Sterling.
The way that Arteta uses Sterling starting this weekend against their biggest rivals will delight Arsenal supporters.
