LISTEN: Enzo Maresca ‘took some flak’ for freezing out Raheem Sterling… however he is being proved RIGHT, says Chris Sutton on It’s All Kicking Off!
- Raheem Sterling made a shock season-long move to Arsenal on Deadline Day
- Chris Sutton believes Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has now been proved right
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off!, available wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Monday and Thursday
Enzo Maresca‘s brazen decision to cut Raheem Sterling out of his Chelsea squad and send him to rivals Arsenal was the correct one to make, according to Mail Sport’s Chris Sutton on It’s All Kicking Off!.
The four-time Premier League champion previously joined Chelsea for £50m in 2022 as the marquee singing in Todd Boehly‘s Stamford Bridge takeover, but things haven’t worked out.
Sterling – like many of Chelsea’s stars – struggled under the guidance of former manager’s Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino, and it was hoped Maresca’s summer arrival from Leicester would help the ex-England star rediscover his best form.
But, Maresca instead exiled Sterling from his first-team, with the 29-year-old subsequently joining Arsenal on a season-long loan where he has struggled for minutes.
Now, with Chelsea above Arsenal in the Premier League standings heading into the weekend’s derby clash, Sutton believes the decision made by Maresca was the right one.
It’s All Kicking Off! co-host and former Premier League winner, Sutton, argues that Sterling is way down the pecking order at the Gunners after Mikel Arteta made five subs in the weekend defeat against Newcastle, with the winger not making it onto the pitch.
The former Celtic star also added that Maresca must have known something about how Sterling’s season would play out after deciding to let him join a rival club.
