Guardiola wants Sterling to stay for much longer

Raheem Sterling (R) celebrates with a teammate after scoring City's first goal against Arsenal on Sunday.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola wants Raheem Sterling to commit his long-term future to the club after the English striker played an influential role in their Premier League win over Arsenal.

The 23-year-old, who has two years left on his contract, scored his 50th league goal on Sunday as the defending champions started their campaign with a comfortable 2-0 away win.

“We are delighted with him and would like Raheem to stay,” Guardiola told reporters. “We’ll do our effort to make him feel we count on him. And we do count on him.”

British media have published unverified reports that Sterling’s agents are seeking a new contract in the region of £300,000-a-week, which would make him one of the club’s highest paid players.

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But while Guardiola is not part of the negotiations and was unable to confirm those reports, he did say that the club have already proved how much they want the player to stay.

“In the end the agents may not have agreements and that may not happen,” Guardiola said. “But he knows and his agent knows we like him and want him a lot.”

Sterling moved to City from Liverpool in 2015 in a deal believed to be worth £49m – a record for an English player. Sterling has gone on to win one Premier League title and one League Cup, while the England international played a regular role in his country’s run to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.