Mikel Arteta makes Raheem Sterling admission as Gabriel Martinelli put on notice after Arsenal vs Bolton

Raheem Sterling made his full debut for Arsenal on Wednesday night following his loan move from Chelsea on deadline day. The winger was cast aside by the Blues after the club’s pre-season tour of the USA, and he was left desperately searching for an opportunity elsewhere in the final days of the transfer window.

Needing competition for Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka, Mikel Arteta quickly acted to snap up the experienced England international, speaking about him in glowing terms. But it’s no secret that Sterling faces an uphill battle to nail down a starting spot during his time at the Emirates Stadium, given the presence of starters Martinelli and Saka.

He did make an early case in the Carabao Cup clash with Bolton on Wednesday night, though, scoring and assisting, albeit it was against lower league opposition. At full-time, Arteta admitted: “Yeah, it’s very good (Sterling’s performance). I think he’s getting better and better. I think physically you can tell that he’s making steps.

“The moment the game opened up a little bit, you know, what he can do, how he can deliver. He was involved in a few goals, so, very positive night for him.”

The performance comes in the context of Martinelli having struggled in the early stages of the season. The Brazilian did look a little better in the first half against Manchester City, but he has generally struggled to have a major say in games, leading to criticism from fans.

Leandro Trossard would usually push Martinelli for a starting spot, but he has been employed centrally of late due to Martin Odegaard’s injury, meaning the job of competing for a wide spot falls on Sterling.

Arteta on signing Sterling

Speaking recently about the signing of Sterling, Arteta said: “He looks great. He's got a lot of energy, a smile on his face and he's at it. He wants to prove a point and when someone's got that in his belly you sense it straight away.

"Obviously I don't need to know anything else about his quality and what he can bring to the team. In his personal life a lot of things have changed but with the player I was really surprised. The first call I had with him I knew in the first ten seconds we have to bring him because he really wanted it.

"That was my only question mark: 'what stage is he at in his career?' [But] after 10 seconds, I knew already before the next questions that we needed him here. What I see is hunger. He's a player that wants to play every minute of every game. When that's not the case, he's not happy. He wants to play every single day and I see that. His commitment and the level of energy that he's bringing to the team is a big boost. You can feel it walking through the door. We are better with him. He's going to make us better."