Theo Walcott hails Arsenal summer signing as a ‘match made in heaven’

Theo Walcott believes Raheem Sterling’s summer move to Arsenal is a ‘match made in heaven’.

After being frozen out by new Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, Sterling sealed a deadline-day loan move to London rivals Arsenal in a bid to play more minutes.

Sterling reunites with his former Manchester City coach Arteta at the Emirates Stadium and brings incredible experience with him as a veteran of 123 goals and 62 assists in 379 Premier League games for the Cityzens, Liverpool and Chelsea combined.

The 82-time England international hasn’t made his Arsenal debut yet, but should be ready to go for this weekend’s big North London derby clash with Tottenham.

Sterling and Arsenal a ‘match made in heaven’, says Walcott

Walcott knows all about the expectations of playing in Arsenal’s attack after notching 108 goals in 397 games for the club across all competitions between 2006 and 2017.

The 35-year-old — who retired from football in August 2023 — believes Sterling and Arsenal are a ‘match made in heaven’ thanks to the forward’s versatility and winning mentality.

“I look at the Raheem Sterling signing and think it’s absolutely a match made in heaven because Raheem is now in a stable group that dominates the ball and enjoys playing their football,” Walcott told BBC‘s The Football News Show.

“There’s no more chopping and changing managers or uncertainty of whether he is or isn’t going to play. There is definitely a togetherness within the whole group.

“The beautiful thing about Raheem is that he can play in any of those three positions up front or even in that 10 position behind the striker. He’s going to be able to take a little bit of pressure off of Saka because Saka plays a lot of football. He’ll put pressure on Trossard and Martinelli to get in the starting 11.

“He’s a winner and is now in an environment where he is loved.”