Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has named Raheem Sterling on the bench for the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur.
Mail Sport’s Sami Mokbel exclusively revealed in the live blog Sterling would not start the clash.
Sterling joined the Gunners on a season-long loan from Chelsea after he was relegated to the Blues’ ‘bomb squad’ by new coach Enzo Maresca.
The deal was complete on deadline day, meaning Sterling has had to wait to make his Arsenal debut.
Instead, Arteta opted for an attacking unit of Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli while Leandro Trossard replaces the injured Martin Odegaard.
Raheem Sterling was not named in Arsenal’s starting line-up for the north London derby
The star forward joined the Gunners on deadline day in a season-long loan deal from Chelsea
He faced the prospect of reduced minutes had he remained at the Blues under Enzo Maresca
Should Sterling come off the bench, it will be his first competitive minutes of the season having failed to feature for Chelsea in their opening games.
Speaking ahead of the derby, Arteta said Sterling had ‘a big smile on his face’ and ‘a lot of energy’ as he looked to remind everyone of his abilities.
‘When someone has got that in his belly you sense it straight away,’ Arteta said.
‘Obviously, I don’t need to discover anything about his quality and what he can bring to the team.
‘What I see is hunger. He is a player who wants to play every minute of every game. When that is not the case he’s not happy.’
Sterling’s temporary switch to the Emirates Stadium re-united him with Arteta as the pair worked together during their time at Manchester City.
The 29-year-old made over appearances 339 appearances across all competitions from City in his seven-year stint and scored 131 goals.
He played a key role in establishing City as the dominant force in English football and won four trophies throughout his time at the Etihad.
Sterling hopes a reunion with Arteta can rekindle the form he displayed at Manchester City
The 29-year-old was told by Blues boss Enzo Maresca he was not his usual style of winger
Sterling watched Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Brighton prior to the international break
Sterling joined Chelsea for £47.5million in July 2022 but struggled to find form, although he had to play under four different managers in Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Frank Lampard and Mauricio Pochettino.
He was a shock omission from Chelsea’s squad for their opening round clash against Manchester City.
In August, Maresca confirmed Sterling was training away from Chelsea’s first team and was unlikely to receive many minutes due to not being his style of winger.
‘Raheem is a fantastic guy who has trained very well,’ Maresca said.
‘Every manager has a different idea and he is the kind of winger that is not one that I like. History and numbers speak for Raheem. He knows exactly what he needs to do.’
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