Kai Havertz says he and his Arsenal team-mates were ‘very happy’ to welcome Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling to the club and believes he is an ‘incredible’ signing.
Sterling made the move from west to north London on transfer deadline day, joining the Gunners on a season-long loan deal.
The 29-year-old has won four Premier League titles and played for Manchester City and Liverpool as well as the two London giants.
Despite his standing, Sterling was exiled by new Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, who banished the England regular from first-team training and told him to leave towards the end of the summer transfer window.
Sterling will now hope to help Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal end their long wait for a Premier League title and compete for the Champions League, with their first European match of the campaign taking place on Thursday night against Atalanta.
Havertz and Sterling shared one season together at Stamford Bridge and the German believes Arsenal pulled off an ‘incredible’ signing to bring his former team-mate to the Emirates Stadium.
‘It’s incredible,’ Havertz told Stadium Astro when asked about Sterling’s arrival following the north London derby victory over Tottenham.
‘I had the joy to play with him at Chelsea. He’s an incredible player. If you see his stats in the Premier League, it’s outstanding.
‘You see how much quality he brings to the team and I think we are all very happy to have him.’
Sterling made his Arsenal debut in Sunday’s north London derby, coming on as a late substitute as the Gunners held onto a lead that was earned by Gabriel’s 64th-minute header.
Speaking after the hard-fought victory, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said: ‘They are a great side and create an unbelievable atmosphere, we knew it would be tough.
‘We believed we could hurt them, we weren’t the best with the ball today. But the way we defended was top drawer.
‘We want to play a different game but they put a structure that is extremely difficult to match up so we decided not to do that.
‘We just work on heading the ball, having the right delivery and winning the ball. It is about the right timing. Over the season the team has to go over hurdles so I am delighted.’
Sterling made 81 appearances for Chelsea following a £50m move from Manchester City in the summer of 2022.