Raheem Sterling had one of the hardest summers of his professional career when he was reportedly told he was not in the plans of new Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca for the upcoming season.
The English international joined Chelsea in the summer of 2022 from Manchester City, a move described as necessary because of Manchester City’s lack of playing time. However, the experienced Raheem Sterling failed to deliver the goods at Chelsea despite being one of the highest earners.
The 29-year-old scored 19 goals and provided 12 assists in all competitions for the Blues in his two years, but these statistics are not good enough to warrant a place in Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea squad.
Raheem Sterling became a topic of discussion in major news outlets and tabloids in the UK when he was omitted from Chelsea’s matchday squad for their first two opening Premier League fixtures against Manchester City and Wolves.
His omission from the Chelsea squad for those games sparked more controversy when his representative released a statement slamming Chelsea for the treatment of their client and reaffirming that Raheem Sterling still has a contract with Chelsea.
Raheem Sterling finally joined Arsenal on a season loan during the deadline day of the summer transfer.
While many have blamed Sterling’s existence on Chelsea’s unusual transfer business under Todd Boehly, Arsenal and Chelsea legend William Gallas has claimed Raheem Sterling should take a holistic view of himself and his performance during his two-year stay at Chelsea.
What did William Gallas say about Raheem Sterling Chelsea’s existence?
The former French international said via Gambling Zone: “Sometimes players need to blame themselves when things don’t work out at their club. Raheem Sterling was in the situation that he was at Chelsea because he didn’t perform for two years.
“He didn’t score or create enough goals and the new manager would’ve watched him and made the decision that he doesn’t want him in his squad, that’s not the manager’s fault.
“Now everybody is interested to see how he does at Arsenal, and sometimes players need to feel the love of their manager to get the best out of them. For me personally, I didn’t need to feel that from a manager. Even if the manager didn’t like me, I had to make sure I was playing well enough that he couldn’t afford to put me on the bench.”
Meanwhile, William Gallas is optimistic that Raheem Sterling will deliver at Arsenal.
He added: “I think Raheem Sterling is going to enjoy himself at Arsenal. He had a big smile on his face during the announcement and I think it’s his dream to play for the club.
“As a footballer, it’s very important to enjoy yourself on the pitch and to have that passion.
“His experience of working with Mikel Arteta at Manchester City could help him get back to his best, but we need to see how much he’s got left.”
Raheem Sterling is line to make his Arsenal debut on Sunday in the North London derby against Tottenham.
