Chelsea have made a positive start to life under Enzo Maresca but the new Blues boss may have made a mistake in allowing Raheem Sterling to leave Stamford Bridge for Arsenal during the summer.
It was decided during pre-season that the 29-year-old would not be part of Maresca’s plans at Chelsea and the Italian coach decided to isolate the winger as the start of the 2024/25 campaign got closer. Not many clubs showed an interest in the winger but with cover needed for the wide positions at Arsenal, Mikel Arteta brought the Englishman to the Emirates Stadium on loan – with one former Arsenal star labelling the transfer a panic buy.
The Gunners are not expected to keep Sterling beyond the current campaign, however, the former Man City talent is doing his best to step up for his current team.
The winger has featured in nine matches for the North London club this season and has produced one goal and two assists. Five of those appearances would come in the Premier League and the 29-year-old would grab his first assist of the season in the competition on Saturday as the Englishman set up Ethan Nwaneri for Arsenal’s third in a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
This assist has produced a crazy stat, that does not reflect well on Chelsea’s attackers.
Sterling’s assist against Nottingham Forest means that the 29-year-old has more assists in the Premier League this season than Chelsea attackers Noni Madueke, Christopher Nkunku, Joao Felix and Mykhailo Mudryk combined.
All four have yet to register an assist in the English top flight so far, which is a damning reflection on the Blues’ attacking options.
Madueke is the only player of the four that starts regularly in the Premier League for Chelsea but that doesn’t change the situation as it is similar to Sterling’s at Arsenal.
It is hard to know exactly what this stat means but the main takeaway is that the supporting cast at Stamford Bridge need to step up more in the Premier League if Maresca’s men are to finish in the top four.
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