Sporting director Edu Gaspar and the Arsenal recruitment team were planning a "shock" late bid to sign a former £100 million player before the deadline at 11pm last night, according to a report.
Arsenal sign Raheem Sterling on loan in last-gasp deal
At the eleventh hour on Friday night, and just in time to submit their deal sheet before the cut-off, Mikel Arteta's Arsenal shook hands on a deal to sign Raheem Sterling on loan for the rest of the 2024/25 season.
Arsenal hit gold on amazing talent who’s worth way more than Sterling
Mikel Arteta has a player in his squad who could move on for a serious profit in the future
ByRoss KilvingtonAug 31, 2024
There were reports that Arteta had a private conversation with Sterling over joining Arsenal yesterday, with the Gunners then racing to get an agreement over the line as Chelsea also looked to get his £325,000-per-week wages off the books, for this campaign at least.
GiveMeSport reporter Ben Jacobs understands that Sterling has agreed to a pay cut as part of his temporary spell at Arsenal, with Arteta's men and Chelsea splitting the cost of his salary 50/50.
Goals
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Assists
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Yellow cards
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Red cards
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The 82-cap England international winger will don the number 10 shirt, which was left available by Emile Smith-Rowe after he completed his permanent switch to Fulham over the summer.
Unfortunately, the transfer came too late for Sterling to make his Premier League debut against Brighton today, as it wasn't done in time for him to be registered for the Emirates Stadium clash.
"Well to be fair, we never planned really to sign him when we started the transfer window, just to be very transparent. For different reasons," said Edu on the late signing of Sterling.
"But we always say to everyone that you have to be prepared for every single scenario. So when that opportunity came to me, and I checked the squad, I checked how he plays, and spoke to Mikel of course.
"I spoke to Tim [Lewis], our vice-chairman, to check if everyone is comfortable for the step we are going to take, and it makes a lot of sense. Yes, it makes a lot of sense to have someone like him because I’m pretty sure he is going to add a lot [to] the squad.
"He has experience, he understands more than anyone the league, he’s played in the Champions League many times. He won the Premier League a few times as well, so I think he can add a lot to our squad and I feel really happy to see someone like him in our squad."
Arsenal also planned "shock" late bid for Ivan Toney
With Sterling over the line, a report by Football Insider and journalist Wayne Veysey claims that Arsenal were also planning a late swoop for Brentford striker Ivan Toney.
Indeed, before the 28-year-old sealed a marquee switch to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli, it is believed Arsenal were readying a "shock" late bid to sign Toney – who was also on Chelsea's radar.
Other deadline day reports claimed Arsenal were on the lookout for opportunities in regard to a new striker, but perhaps the frantic last-minute nature of Sterling's deal meant that the north Londoners needed to pour all their energy into getting him over the line instead.
It means Arsenal go into the 24/25 season without signing a new prolific number nine, despite being tipped to do so all summer. However, it shouldn't be too much of a worry for Arteta, as the squad does have real attacking quality in a variety of attacking areas, especially with Sterling's late capture.
Toney, who Brentford valued at £100 million in January, is now gearing up for a new chapter in the Middle East.
