Chelsea and their manager Enzo Maresca were absolutely ruthless during the summer.
The club removed the likes of Raheem Sterling, Conor Gallagher and Ben Chilwell from the first-team squad.
Chilwell remained at Chelsea in the end, but Sterling was loaned to Arsenal, while Gallagher was sold to Atletico Madrid.
It has since been claimed that Chelsea only want £25m to part ways with Sterling permanently.
Raheem Sterling’s Arsenal loan not going to plan
Given the circumstances, a switch to Arsenal would have been Sterling’s dream move.
The winger got to stay in London and it was so late in the transfer window, so he would have been delighted to get a transfer to the Gunners, who are currently one of the best teams in the Premier League.
Unfortunately for Sterling, though, things are not exactly working out well, with the 29-year-old barely playing under Mikel Arteta.
| Competition | Raheem Sterling’s minutes at Arsenal |
| Premier League | 123 |
| Champions League | 39 |
| Carabao Cup | 171 |
| Total | 333 |
With Arteta overlooking Sterling at the moment, Chris Sutton has suggested that Maresca was right to get rid of him.
Speaking on It’s All Kicking Off!, the former Chelsea player said: “What is interesting about this is there was a huge kerfuffle, wasn’t there, about him leaving Chelsea and Maresca took a fair bit of flack from some quarters, making that decision to freeze Sterling out. Looks like he was onto something.”
Why Chelsea need Raheem Sterling to perform at Arsenal
Chelsea fans may see the funny side of Sterling struggling in north London, but the England international failing there could be counterproductive for his parent club.
Being on huge wages but no longer being part of their plans, Chelsea will want to offload Sterling permanently.
However, if he cannot make an impact at Arsenal, then that is one potential buyer out of the running to sign him.
Of course, Sterling not doing anything at the Emirates could help Chelsea in the race for top four. The Blues are currently above their London rivals in the Premier League table.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 3 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 19 |
| 4 |  ChelseaChelsea | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 18 |
| 5 |  ArsenalArsenal | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 18 |
That is one positive of the former Manchester City star not being able to make an impact under Arteta.
There was some surprise when Chelsea let Sterling go, but they will stand by their decision even more now amid his struggles at Arsenal.
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