Mikel Arteta has said he knew within 10 seconds of speaking to Raheem Sterling that he was the right signing for Arsenal and warned the winger has a lot to prove as he looks to revitalise his career.
Arsenal travel to Tottenham for Sunday's north London derby with uncertainty over their starting lineup after captain Martin Ødegaard and Riccardo Calafiori suffered injuries during the international break.
Sources have told ESPN that both are likely to miss Sunday's game, but Arteta has refused to rule either player out as Ødegaard undergoes further scans on an ankle problem and Calafiori battles a calf injury.
While Declan Rice is also suspended, one player whose availability is not in doubt is Sterling, who joined Arsenal on the final day of a season-long loan from Chelsea in a move that only became known in the final hours of the window.
Sterling was omitted from interim manager Lee Carsley's England squad and has therefore had almost two weeks to acclimatise to his new surroundings at Arsenal's London Colney training base.
“He looks great. He has a lot of energy, a smile on his face and he gives his all. He wants to prove something and when someone has that in their stomach, you notice it straight away,” Arteta said at a news conference on Friday.
“Obviously I don't need to know anything more about his quality and what he can bring to the team.
“A lot has changed in his personal life, but with the player I was very surprised. In the first call I had with him I knew in the first ten seconds that we had to sign him because he really wanted him.
“That was my only question: 'what stage are you at in your career?' [But] After 10 seconds, I knew before the next questions that we needed him here.
“What I see is hunger. He's a player who wants to play every minute of every game. When he doesn't, he's not happy. He wants to play every day and I see that.”
“His commitment and the level of energy he brings to the team is a huge boost. You can feel it from the first moment. We are better with him. He will make us better.”
Arteta signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract on Thursday that will keep him at the club until 2027.
Asked if he would have left another job, Arteta said: “No, the emotional attachment that I have, that my family and my children have, the experience I have with people is too strong.
“We are on the right track and have made important steps. We still have a lot to do and I sense that the board, the management, the players and all the staff are eager to do it. This is the objective.”
