I’m incredibly underwhelmed by this. But it’s the best we could do with limited time and options, the problem this highlights though is why were our time and options so limited. We were told we were waiting for Nketiah to go and had a replacement in place. I’m not sure I see Sterling as a real upgrade. He doesn’t bench anyone.
Nketiah was notoriously poor as a sub, and he wasn’t really good enough to be a starter. If Sterling can be a better sub (what did Arteta call them? Finishers?) then I think it’s a clear upgrade even if he’s not an overall better player than Nketiah.
I think of it like this. Can Stirling bench Martinelli? No. Can he be a better super sub than Trossard? Can he give Arteta enough confidence to let him take off Saka for ten minutes? Yes. That’s why it’s underwhelming, I wanted us to take strides forward in the window, not stay in the same place. Stirling will be better than Nketiah and Nelson put together if Arteta uses him more than either one, but he’s not an upgrade on any of our starters.
