Raheem Sterling: boss Mikel Arteta opens up about ‘exceptional’ relationship with Chelsea forward at Man City | Football News

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta says his time working with Raheem Sterling when the pair were at Manchester City together was “exceptional”.

Chelsea, who signed Sterling from the reigning Premier League champions two years ago for £50m, are willing to listen to offers for the 29-year-old, with Crystal Palace among a number of Premier League clubs interested in the player.

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Arteta spent three years as an assistant coach to Pep Guardiola, ending in 2019, with the Spaniard winning five major trophies at Manchester City with Sterling during their time together.

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Chelsea-Raheem Sterling transfer saga: A timeline so far…

Aug 16 – Sterling told by Enzo Maresca in training he is not part of plans
Aug 18 – Sterling excluded from squad for Man City opener prompting statement from Sterling camp ‘seeking clarity’ over his future
Aug 19 – Sterling considers options amid Juventus interest
Aug 20 – Sterling left out of squad for Conference League game against Servette
Aug 21 – Pedro Neto to wear the Chelsea No 7 shirt, therefore stripping Sterling of his squad number
Aug 21 – Sterling wants to stay in the Premier League
Aug 23 – Sterling training away from Cobham after being frozen out
Aug 23 – Crystal Palace among PL clubs interested in Sterling

Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Aston Villa, live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 5pm on Saturday, Arteta opened up about the special relationship that he enjoyed with Sterling.

“My time with Raheem was exceptional,” Arteta said.

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Paul Merson believes Enzo Maresca’s honest assessment that Ben Chilwell and Sterling will continue to train away from the Chelsea squad is a ‘strange decision’

“We built a really strong relationship together. He was unbelievable at that time.

“He taught me a lot as well, about individuals, how the players think, how we help them and support them. He is someone I have really strong feelings about.”

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Sam Tighe suggests Arsenal and Sterling would be a ‘happy marriage’

Ricardo Calafiori is the highest-profile arrival at the Emirates Stadium this summer, with Spain international Mikel Merino set to join him after Arsenal agreed a £33m deal in principle with Real Sociedad to sign the midfielder.

Arteta refused to be drawn on whether there might be any further transfer activity in the last week of the summer window.

“Anything can happen, both ways, and you have to be ready,” he said.

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta brushes aside transfer topics and insists he is focused on his current squad and Aston Villa

“Especially in the last week, you have to be alert and prepared because a lot of surprises can come for many different reasons. We are prepared.”

Arteta to hold contract talks when window shutsArteta has revealed talks over a new contract at Arsenal will take place after the transfer window shuts.

Arteta’s current deal at the Emirates expires next summer, but the 42-year-old promised back in July there would be no issues over him signing fresh terms.

No announcement has followed, but the Spanish coach allayed any fears among supporters ahead of the trip to Aston Villa on Saturday.

“The focus has been on the transfer window. We had quite a lot of things to do and discuss. We are on it and we will take care of that in the right moment,” Arteta said.

When asked if talks would occur after the transfer window shuts, Arteta replied: “Yeah.

“I am very grateful, first of all, for where I’m sitting and the people I work with every single day because it’s really difficult to find that harmony, trust, belief and alignment in the vision.

“It’s something I always mention because I believe we still have an unbelievable time ahead of us. It’s very exciting and I am very excited about it.”

Does Sterling’s future remain in the Premier League?

Chelsea are holding talks with clubs interested in Sterling and will then put any proposals in front of him and his representatives.

Transfer Centre LIVE! | Premier League done dealsSky Sports+: Every EFL team live at least 20 timesStream Sky Sports with NOWSterling wants to stay in the Premier League because his family is settled in London and he wants to get back in the England squad.

Sterling, who has been training away from Chelsea’s Cobham training base, would prefer a permanent exit from the club.

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Maresca says Chilwell and Sterling continue to train away from the squad and if they want to play regularly they have an option to leave

Chelsea head coach Maresca informed Sterling last week that he was not in his plans this season and he was left out of the squad that lost to City in their season opener, as well as for Thursday night’s UEFA Conference League qualifying win over Servette.

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Sky Sports News’ chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol reveals why Sterling and Trevoh Chalobah have lost their Chelsea squad numbers

Sterling’s No 7 shirt has also been given to summer signing Pedro Neto, who wore the No 19 shirt on his debut against Manchester City on Sunday.

However, Sterling was listed as the club’s No. 7 in the match programme for the game against Servette. Publishing deadlines mean the programme went to print before Sterling lost the No. 7 shirt earlier this week.