Chelsea allowed Raheem Sterling to join rivals Arsenal in the summer on a season-long loan, and he’s struggled to make a significant impact so far this season.
Raheem Sterling, 30, never set the world alight as a Chelsea player after joining them from Manchester City in 2022. He scored 19 goals in 81 Blues appearances, but he was allowed to leave on loan after Enzo Maresca took charge as the head coach.
Sterling has no desire to return to Chelsea in January despite his lack of minutes for Arsenal, so it’ll be interesting to see where he ends up playing next season.
The winger possesses a glittering CV, particularly from his success with Manchester City and the England national team, but he’s a player on the decline. Sterling only has one goal and two assists in 16 Arsenal games so far this campaign across all competitions.
Arsenal fans react to Raheem Sterling’s Champions League performance, compare to former Chelsea star
Sterling earned a rare start for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side on Wednesday night and completed 90 minutes as they won 2-1 away to Girona in Europe. As a result, the Gunners finished third in the Champions League group phase to qualify for the knockout stage.
In terms of the on-loan winger’s performance, he’ll be frustrated after his penalty was saved in the second half.
Arsenal fans were heavily critical of Sterling’s Champions League display in midweek. In fact, they compared him to Willian, who had a difficult spell at the Emirates Stadium between 2020-2021 after seven glorious years as a Chelsea player.
Here are Gunners supporters on X comparing latest flop Sterling to Willian…
One fan wrote: “Sterling might be the worst player we had since Willian.”
“Sterling is our modern day Willian,” another commented.
One supporter posted: “Sterling might be a worse signing than Willian. You couldn’t make it up.”
“Sterling is Willian reincarnated,” another said.
“Sterling is basically a carbon copy of the Willian signing. Actually perhaps slightly worse because at least Chelsea did want to keep Willian and he arrived in-form. It never made sense as a transfer, even on loan,” another claimed.
Chris Sutton thinks Chelsea were right to freeze out Sterling after seeing his struggles across London in Arsenal colours. Unfortunately, the English attacker looks a long way off his peak heights.
He actually showed glimpses of real quality in the Champions League victory over Girona yesterday, but it’s obvious he’s completely lost the belief of the supporters.
| Minutes played | Goals | Assists | Total shots | Chances created | Successful dribbles | Offsides | Match rating |
| 90 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4/6 (67%) | 1 | 7.0 |
Raheem Sterling vs Willian
Like Willian’s brief spell as an Arsenal player, Sterling can’t seem to find his best form in North London. Don’t let that distract you from the fact that both wingers have made gigantic contributions in English football, though.
Here is a look how the two wide players compare in their club careers…
| Club | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Trophies |
| Manchester City | 339 | 131 | 73 | 12 |
| Liverpool | 129 | 23 | 17 | 0 |
| Chelsea | 81 | 19 | 12 | 0 |
| Arsenal | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Club | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Trophies |
| Chelsea | 339 | 63 | 57 | 5 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 221 | 37 | 63 | 12 |
| Corinthians | 83 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| Fulham | 67 | 10 | 7 | 0 |
| Arsenal | 37 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| Anzhi Makhachkala | 17 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Olympiacos | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Even if Willian isn’t remembered by the Arsenal fanbase, it’s very different on the blue side of London.
Tom Cairney claims Eden Hazard stole the limelight from Willian at Chelsea, but he was still a special player in his own right with his skills in attack.
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