After joining Chelsea from Manchester City in the summer, Raheem Sterling’s equaliser in our last match, Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb in our final Champions League group game, was his fifth goal of the season, moving him clear of Kai Havertz as our top scorer in all competitions so far this season.

• An exclusive chat with Aubameyang before he faces his former club

• A behind the scenes look at training ahead of today's match

• How to follow Chelsea vs Arsenal live

However, the England international sets high standards for himself and admits he has not been happy with his own performances at times this season, even if he has no concerns over his ability to match those lofty expectations moving forward.

‘There’s been early parts of the season that I was not happy with my performances,’ said Sterling. ‘So far I’ve been nowhere near the level that I need to be but I’m sure that will come as time passes.

‘It’s not something that I’m panicking or stressed about. It’s part of the game. We’re in a decent position in the table, we’ve qualified for the Champions League, but there will be better performances from myself in the near future.’

The 27-year-old also discussed his role in the team, having alternated between the front three and a wider role recently as Graham Potter searches for the right shape and system after joining Chelsea as head coach in September, insisting he is happy to play whichever position helps the team and, again, performances will only get better in time.

‘You come to a new team, there’s different things that are going to be asked of you and it’s a different shape. I haven’t played in a back five for a while, but it’s something the manager’s asked me to do and something that I’m more than happy to do as well.

‘When we’ve got the ball I’m high and wide but of course you have to defend as well, that’s part of the game. The more time I have to figure it out in this position the better I will do.

‘I feel my best position is as a winger, but like anything the manager has his way of playing. He’s not had a full pre-season with us, he was dropped in in the middle of a storm really. He came in and I think he’s grabbed it with both hands and he’s trying to figure out the best personnel for positions and I’m sure with time it will come together nicely.’

Patience definitely seems to be the theme for Sterling. Our most recent Premier League fixture was a disappointing one, as we suffered our first defeat since Potter’s arrival, away at Brighton, but our No17 believes days like that are just part of the adjustment period under a new manager and hasn’t dampened his excitement for what the future holds for him at Chelsea.

‘The manager has been putting his touch on the team and we’ve been learning from him, trying to get to how he wants us to work. When you’re trying new things, sometimes these things can happen. The more time we have with him, the more we can be on the training pitch and see how he wants to work, the better it will be.

‘The manager came in at a difficult period. We just built on some good performances, scraped through on some performances as well. Like anything, these things take time. I didn’t come here with just this season in mind, I came here on the vision that the club had and I’m really focused in on that vision and I know that we will get there.’

Our next match is also likely to be a difficult one as we host Arsenal, currently one point off the top of the Premier League table with a game in hand, at Stamford Bridge. Sterling admits he has been impressed with their start to the campaign under Mikel Arteta, who he knows well from their time working together at Man City, and is expecting a good game between two teams with similar styles.

‘Everyone probably can see they’ve had a great start to the season, they’re playing some beautiful stuff and Mikel’s got them playing some free-flowing football, that’s for sure.

‘It’s a team that they’ve been building for a few years now. That’s what we’re looking to do, to keep building, and it’s a game that I think will be a really interesting one. They’re a possession-dominant team and so are ourselves, so I think it will be a good match.’