Wright: When I heard Fulham wanted Nelson, I knew Sterling was on his way

Arsenal signed Sterling on transfer deadline day, with Ian Wright believing it would be a great deal for the club, with Nelson and Nketiah expected to prove themselves at Fulham and Crystal Palace respectively.

Sterling agreed to join Arsenal on a season-long loan after being told he was not part of Maresca's plans for the season.

The 29-year-old England striker hopes the move will mark a fresh start after a disappointing two seasons at Chelsea, where he scored just 19 goals in 81 games.

After the loan was confirmed, Sterling said he can't wait to succeed under Arteta, who he previously worked with at Manchester City.

“It’s a perfect fit for me to be at a football club where you can see that hunger, that desire. They push the team forward year after year.”

“Every year you want to be better and do better than the last year. Hopefully I can fit in well with the team and start to make my mark.”

“Now it’s time to meet the team-mates, settle in and hopefully get some game time and make my mark.”

Sterling’s arrival in north London has been met with mixed reactions from Arsenal fans, with some pointing to his underwhelming performances over the past two seasons at Stamford Bridge.

However, legendary Arsenal striker Wright believes his former club has brought in a quality player, who he believes has the drive to prove himself in the Premier League.

“I’m really happy about it, really pleased with the way the deal has developed,” Wright said on his podcast, The Wright House.

“When I heard Nelson was leaving, initially I heard he was being linked with Ipswich, I thought, for him, we’ll see how he does, it looks like they’ve got a good atmosphere over there at Portman Road, it’s an old ground with a great atmosphere.”

“But when I heard he was going to Fulham I thought ‘yeah that’s right… I think Raheem is coming’.”

“With the deal, Raheem and his family don’t need to move, he’s got the drive to prove himself, he understands the manager, has no problem with rotation, and he’s got experience, he’s a winner.”

p>“It’s a great deal for us, a great signing for him and he’s only 29. Chelsea are paying the bulk of the wages so it couldn’t have been better.”

“The only thing that could have made it better was when he scored the winner against Tottenham. That’s when you think ‘this is it! It’s meant to be!’ That’s the feeling you get when you see a player put on your shirt… He suits our shirt, really suits our shirt.”

It was a busy transfer deadline day for Arsenal, with Nketiah joining Crystal Palace for £30m.

Wright said of Nketiah's move to Selhurst Park: "I'm delighted for him because he's got big hopes for himself and I hope he can be successful.

"Either get Palace into a position where they can compete in Europe or get himself into a position where he can attract the attention of the bigger clubs, that's probably one of his aims.

"He's got Adam Walton, he's got Eze, he's got people who can create chances for him.

"I just think it's a very, very good move for him and a decision he has to make because he's 25 now, which is the perfect age for him to be playing every week, trying to get into the England squad and score goals to show what he can really do."