Jermaine Pennant reckons new signing Raheem Sterling is now Arsenal’s best left-sided option – but his arrival could also get Gabriel Martinelli back to his best.

After securing the ex-England winger on a season-long loan from rivals Chelsea, Gunners fans are hoping Sterling will bring some extra firepower to their title tilt. Former Arsenal star Pennant, 41, believes it’s good business from Mikel Arteta who coached Sterling at Manchester City.

He scored 91 goals in 225 games for City before moving to Chelsea two years ago but largely failed to shine at Stamford Bridge.

Pennant said: “I think it’s a great little deal. Not only are they not paying a fee, they’re getting him on loan so they’ve saved a lot of money on a permanent. I know Reem would have wanted a permanent one.

“Chelsea are paying a big chunk of his wages as well so that’s an added bonus just in the financial scheme of things. As a player, he’s still 29. When you reach peak years, you’re around 27-29 as most people would say. So, in theory, he’s got his best year ahead of him.

“Arteta coached him at Man City and they probably have a good understanding and a good relationship. And if you look at who they’ve got on the left, they’ve got Martinelli and [Leandro] Trossard. Would you say Raheem is better than them?If you get Raheem firing, I would say yes he is.”

With England star Bukayo Saka a certainty in Arteta’s side down the right, Sterling will be eyeing a slot on the left where Brazilian Martinelli hasn’t always fired since his brilliant 2022-23 campaign.

Pennant told bettingexpert.com : “His confidence is down. And we all know that in this game, if you’ve got bags of confidence, it helps massively on the pitch.

“All he [Martinelli] needs to probably add is a little bit more confidence and his end product. He can get in these great positions to score or assist. He just sometimes lacks that decisive pass and ability on that end of the pitch. Running with the ball, pace, he’s got all of that. It’s just that little bit in the final third, that little bit of end product.”

Pennant added: “If he can get those numbers that we saw when he and Saka were on fire, we’ve seen that partnership is horrible [for opposing defenders]. You not only have to worry about Saka but then you also have to worry about Martinelli running down the side. Whereas at the moment, teams are focusing more on Saka. Yes, Trossard can hurt you but he’s not got that pace to run at players left, right and centre.”