Raheem Sterling has been offered to Arsenal, but there are three key stumbling blocks to him making a move. There has been a big push by Gunners chiefs in recent seasons to move away from older players on big deals. They are keeping their cards close to their chest when it comes to whether they will move for Sterling on deadline day, while they continue to monitor a number of targets.

This puts them in a much lower budget, with their primary concern being to have a player that can ease the burden on Saka. This means they are not willing to pay a fee for Sterling in particular, creating the first stumbling block. The final block stems from the other two issues, which makes any deal contingent on Sterling settling his contract problems with the Blues.

While Arteta is a fan of Sterling, Maresca certainly isn’t, with the Chelsea boss making it clear that the Englishman will not play under him. “I prefer to be honest with players,” he said. “The ones who are not involved are not going to be involved and they won’t get any minutes if they stay.

I don’t know what happens when the window closes if they are still here. The ones who will get minutes are the ones I think can help us. Raheem is a fantastic guy who has trained very well.

Every manager has a different idea and he is the kind of winger that is not one that I like. History and numbers speak for Raheem. He knows exactly what he needs to do.

They are not going to get minutes. I have been clear and honest with them. I can say that this is not a mad club.

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