The papers are claiming that Raheem Sterling has ruled out a move to Arsenal, but did he really?

According to a headline in the Daily Mail, “Raheem Sterling says his next transfer will take him abroad as he rules out Arsenal move”. Based on that headline, you’d expect some quotes from Raheem about the Gunners, or at the very least, a reporter asking him about the North London club.

In fact, neither of those things seem to be the case despite this being a headline that has spread across the internet.

So what did Sterling say?

“I’m happy at Man City at the moment. But nobody knows what the future brings so one day, definitely, it would be nice to play abroad. It would be a great experience.

“Spain’s attractive. Anywhere the weather is nice really! Can’t be in London. I can’t be near my friends. They got to stay down there.”

So, as you can see, Arsenal didn’t even get a mention.

It’s no surprise that publications like the Daily Mail are trying to twist everything Sterling says to try and make it about the Gunners, with the January transfer window coming up.

Raheem’s potential availability in an Alexis Sanchez swap deal was one of the big stories of the summer despite it never being a realistic option.

Since then, there’s been no indication from either player nor manager that the transfer could be back on in the future. In fact, quite the opposite.

Sterling told the media that he didn’t even think about leaving, and Guardiola responded to questions about how close Raheem is to an exit by saying: “No chance. Zero Chance. Not one per cent chance we will swap Raz because I trust a lot in him.”

With the way the 23-year-old has been playing for City this season, I’m not sure why they’d want Alexis Sanchez, whose 29th birthday is days away, over him.

Sterling has 13 goals and four assists in 20 appearances, and many of those goals have come at crucial times. However much the media try and make Sterling-to-Arsenal into a story, it just isn’t one.