Arsenal 'rejected' chance to sign £62m-rated star on loan before Raheem Sterling deal

Arsenal were reportedly the bizarre recipients of an offer to sign an alternative forward before they opted to sign Raheem Sterling in a last-minute deal.

The Gunners signed a loan deal for Raheem Sterling who will now remain at the Emirates for the 2024/25 campaign after being cast out of Enzo Maresca’s squad in SW6 with the Italian head coach making it known in no uncertain terms that if the 29-year-old were to stay he would not receive any minutes on the pitch.

Now, however, reports from Arsenal insider Team News and Tix have claimed that the Gunners were in fact offered the chance to sign Ukrainian star Mykhailo Mudryk on loan before eventually picking up Sterling on Friday’s transfer deadline day.

According to the reports, the Blues never intended to let go of the £62m man, who Chelsea purchased in January 2023 from Shakhtar Donetsk, but the offer was designed to drum up more money from Arsenal for the ex-Manchester City winger. The report continues by saying that the Blues supposedly made it seem that Mudryk was set for a move to La Liga on loan in order to strike up some urgency into Arsenal.

It was also designed to run the clock down on deadline day in order to make Mikel Arteta’s side pay more money for Sterling as they would have less time to negotiate.

However, this did not work and not only did Arsenal sign the 29-year-old on loan with no obligation to buy him next summer, but the Gunners are also paying well under 50% of Sterling’s eye-watering £325,000-a-week wages. So Chelsea are, indeed, paying the England international more to play for their north London rivals than the Gunners are paying to him to play for them

Mudryk was the recipient of intense interest from Arsenal but after he opted to join the SW6 club, Leandro Trossard was signed from Brighton by the Gunners with many Arsenal fans believing this to have been a far more fruitful outcome for their club.

Sterling must now wait until the north London derby on September 15 before potentially playing his first Arsenal match as the international break takes over.