England star Sterling to snub Arsenal transfer in order to fight for his future at Chelsea

Joe Williams
Arsenal target Raheem Sterling puts his hands on his hips

Raheem Sterling will snub any approach from Arsenal in the summer transfer window as he makes returning to form at Chelsea his priority, according to reports.

The England international moved to Stamford Bridge in the summer transfer window for £47.5m from Premier League rivals Manchester City.

Things haven’t gone to plan for Sterling or Chelsea this season with the 28-year-old only managing four goals and two assists in 18 Premier League appearances as the Blues sit tenth in the Premier League table.

Graham Potter is struggling to put together his strongest starting XI after Chelsea spent £600m over the last two transfer windows with the club now likely to miss out on Champions League football.

Their 2-0 defeat to Tottenham on Sunday means they are now 14 points adrift of fourth-placed Spurs with Potter’s side finding it hard to score goals.

There were rumours earlier this week that Premier League leaders Arsenal are ‘monitoring’ his situation at Stamford Bridge with an eye on the summer transfer window.

Despite the prospect of no Champions League football, talkSPORT claim that Sterling is ‘set to rebuff interest from Arsenal to fight for his Chelsea future’.

The report adds:

‘Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is a big admirer of Sterling having worked with the England winger at Manchester City and would be interested in a summer reunion in north London.

‘But despite struggling to hold down a regular starting spot at Stamford Bridge, Sterling is dedicated to being a success at Chelsea and is not pushing to leave.’

Sterling has previously spoke in glowing terms of Arsenal boss Arteta, he said back in 2020: “The manager trusted him here [Manchester City] and he had a lot of influence on the players here and the team as well.

“So I knew once he went into Arsenal that it would be a great opportunity for him but also he would definitely implement what he wanted to bring in. And he’s a person that will put his foot down and not let things slide as you can see with the boys at Arsenal.

“They know if they don’t run they are most likely not going to play. You can see the change that he’s brought in there, you can see the energy, you can see how much he’s put into them with their off-ball work.

“We all knew before Mikel got in how much good football they could play, how technically good they were but probably off the field they weren’t as aggressive as they are with Mikel. They run their socks off now, you can see why they benefited with some good results recently.”

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