Jermaine Pennant: Sterling is a fantastic signing. He is better than Martinelli and Trossard

One of the biggest transfer deadline day moves saw one of the most surprising, non surprising moves where Raheem Sterling across the City of London, swapping the West side of London for the North side. Sterling has had a topsy-turvy summer having initially been part of Enzo Maresca’s plans at Chelsea before being told he was no longer a part of his plans two days before the season opener against Manchester City. We caught up with former Arsenal winger Jermaine Pennant who shared his thoughts on Sterling joining Arsenal on loan as well as his thoughts on the form of Gabriel Martinelli. 

Maresca’s Rebuild Leaves No Room for Sterling

When Raheem Sterling left for a reported fee of around £47.5 million. The move was seen as a major acquisition for Chelsea, with the club aiming to bolster their attacking options and add experience to a Chelsea side entering a new era under Chairman Todd Boehly and majority owners Clearlake Capital. However, his two years at the club have been marred by managerial and player instability, including the sacking of Thomas Tuchel and the appointment of Graham Potter, followed by interim managers, the hiring of Mauriccio Pochettino before finally bringing in Maresca from Leicester City. 

A New Chapter at Arsenal

However, Sterling has quickly found himself out of favour at Chelsea. Maresca reportedly communicated to Sterling that he would struggle to get playing time due to competition from newer signings like Pedro Neto and Jadon Sancho alongside established attackers such as Cole Palmer and Noni Madeueke. As a result, Sterling’s squad number was taken away from him, signalling his diminished role at the club.  Sterling secured a loan move to Arsenal for the 2024/25 season. This decision was influenced by his desire to reignite his career and reunite with Mikel Arteta, who had previously worked with Sterling during their time at Manchester City as Pep Guardiola’s assistant. Pennant believes that Sterling could be a fantastic addition to the Arsenal frontline and argues that he’s better than both Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard.

“I think it’s a great little deal. Not only are they not paying a fee, they’re getting him on loan so they’ve saved a lot of money on a permanent. I know Reem would have wanted a permanent one. Chelsea are paying a big chunk of his wages as well so that’s an added bonus just in the financial scheme of things.”

“As a player, he’s still 29. When you reach peak years, you’re around 27-29 as most people would say. So, in theory, he’s got his best year ahead of him.”

“Arteta coached him at Man City and they probably have a good understanding and a good relationship. And if you look at who they’ve got on the left, they’ve got Martinelli and Trossard. Would you say Raheem is better than them? I would probably say yes. If you get Raheem firing, I would say yes he is.”

“So in saying that, his stats, and the theory, I would say he’s a fantastic little signing, if you can get a firing Raheem Sterling.”

Martinelli’s Challenge to Reclaim His Arsenal Spot

As a winger himself, Pennant knows what it takes to be one of the creative sparks of a side and will also know what it’s like to be playing your football low on confidence. After scoring 15 Premier League goals in the 2022/23 season, Martinelli’s output dropped significantly, with only six goals in the 2023/24 season. Martienlli now faces further challenges in his quest to be a mainstay in Arteta’s side after the signing of Sterling. Pennant believes that Martinelli is currently devoid of confidence which isn’t helped by the Brazilians lack of end product. 

“A lot of confidence, it looks like has been knocked out of his wind. His confidence is down. And we all know that in this game, if you’ve got bags of confidence, it helps massively on the pitch.” 

“All he needs to probably add is a little bit more confidence and his end product. He can get in these great positions to score or assist. He just sometimes lacks that decisive pass and ability on that end of the pitch. Running with the ball, pace, he’s got all of that. It’s just that little bit in the final third, that little bit of end product.” 

“If he can get those numbers that we saw when he and Saka were on fire, we’ve seen that partnership is horrible (for opposing defenders). You not only have to worry about Saka but then you also have to worry about Martinelli running down the side. Whereas at the moment, teams are focusing more on Saka. Yes, Trossard can hurt you but he’s not got that pace to run at players left, right and centre.”