Sterling, now 19, emerged through the youth ranks at Queens Park Rangers before joining Liverpool for 600,000 pounds in 2010.
The Daily Mail has reported that the Gunners tried to sign Sterling as a 10-year-old, and they were also regularly linked with a move for his sevices during the 2009-10 season.
Brady, who said it was “very difficult” to tell youngsters they would not have a future at Arsenal, expressed regret that he had allowed a number of successful players to slip away.
“I had to make decisions at under 12, 14, 16 and 18 whether a player was going to be offered further registration or contracts, and that’s something I won’t miss,” Brady, who left Arsenal in the summer, said. “I’ve let kids go at 14 who are making a very good living in the game.
“In recent times, I think I could have got Raheem Sterling if I’d really gone for him, but I didn’t go through with that one.
“Players we don’t keep often go on and have a good career in the game. It isn’t an end — OK, he’s leaving Arsenal, but clubs are always ringing us, saying: ‘Well, tell us about this fella, and give me a list of the lads who are leaving.’ That isn’t said to soften the blow for the lad, that’s the truth. Within weeks, these lads have moved to another academy.
Written by Steve Milne
