Raheem Sterling has no intention of ending his season-long loan at Arsenal, according to a report.
The former Liverpool and Manchester City striker was stopped at Stamford Bridge by Enzo Maresca at the start of the season. Surprisingly left out of Chelsea's squad for the first game of the Premier League season, Sterling sealed an exit from west London on the due date.
There was a lot of optimism about the deal at the time. Arsenal are reportedly paying less than half of his £325,000-a-week wages – with Chelsea covering the remainder – and Mikel Arteta was excited to reunite with a player he worked with at Manchester City.
However, Premier League starts have been hard to come by for Sterling and performances of any length have stalled in recent weeks. The four-time Premier League champion saw him as an unused substitute ArsenalPrevious four games in all competitions.
Sterling's final league start for the Gunners was cut short in the 37th minute when Arteta was forced into a tactical reshuffle following William Saliba's red card. against Bournemouth in October. It was indicative that the experienced winger was the player to sacrifice.
Despite his minimal involvement, Sterling remains committed to Arsenal, according to The Evening Standard. The forward is said to remain “determined” to earn his place in the starting line-up and is still considered a possible option for Arteta.
When Pep GuardiolaHis former number two was asked if Sterling had been sidelined for a specific reason this week, Arteta replied bluntly: “No.”
The Arsenal boss has previously explained this £The lack of minutes has weighed heavily on him. “I would like him to play a lot more as I think he can influence the team in a very good way. Arteta described earlier this month. “He is very good in the dressing room and is absolutely desperate to play.”