Back in May, the Telegraph revealed that Arsenal wanted to sign Raheem Sterling from Manchester City.
Eventually, the Gunners lost out to Chelsea in the fight for the England international, with the Blues sealing a £50m deal for his signature.
While that will have been a sore one to take for Mikel Arteta at the time given his relationship with Sterling, it seems as if the Gunners may have dodged a bullet.
Raheem Sterling struggling after Arsenal interest
Well, plenty was expected of the 27-year-old when he arrived at Stamford Bridge, but he has been largely overwhelming in west London.
The man Arsenal wanted to sign has only scored four goals in 15 appearances for Chelsea this season, and things went from bad to worse as Sterling found himself 3-0 down to Brighton at half-time earlier today.
Covering that clash at the Amex Stadium for BBC Sport was Pat Nevin, who made a point of just how badly the Chelsea No.17 was struggling against the Seagulls, and has been since he joined the Blues.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: “I’m watching Raheem Sterling right now and I’ve said that Graham Potter has got the best from every player since he has been there, with one exception. Raheem Sterling. If he keeps playing the way he is right now, he’s not even a consideration for the World Cup. He is having a really really bad time and today he is having an absolutely terrible game.”
It really hasn’t been the best of starts to life at Chelsea for Sterling, to say the very least.
Arsenal dodged another bullet in addition to Sterling
Arteta was seemingly in the market for a new wide forward over the summer, as The Athletic believe Raphinha was also a target before he joined Barcelona.
Like Sterling, the Brazil international is also struggling at his new club, scoring just one goal in 14 appearances so far this season.
There was some frustration when the Gunners failed to sign Sterling nor Raphinha, as well as losing out to Manchester United in the race for Lisandro Martinez.
However, the form of the two wingers since Arsenal expressed interest suggests Arteta may have dodged not just one bullet, but two.
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