Raheem Sterling’s struggles at Arsenal have been a hot topic of discussion recently.
The Gunners decided to bring the 30-year-old in on transfer deadline day last summer after failing to land any of their key attacking targets.
At the time, Mikel Arteta knew Sterling was only going to be a backup, but the Arsenal boss would’ve surely hoped to see more from the former Manchester City star.
Sadly, things have not gone to plan for Sterling, who has come under a lot of criticism for his performances in the famous red and white this season.
Mikel Arteta disagrees with Gary Neville’s assessment of Raheem Sterling
Sterling has been in the game for a long, long time.
The England international made his Liverpool debut when he was just 17 years old. He is 30 now and has clocked a lot of miles on his legs – 650 senior games for club and country over the last 13 years.
Gary Neville highlighted that as a factor for Sterling’s struggles recently.
“I think when a quick player, say Michael Owen or Raheem Sterling start at the age of 16, 17, and they get to sort of like late 20s, 30, they’ve already played a full career. So you think why they are like they are now is because most players come in when they are like 19, 20, and they play to the 34, and you see a deterioration, they are actually in their bodies 34 already,” Neville said.
That does make sense as Sterling’s performances for Arsenal this season have looked laboured, and he just doesn’t seem to have that explosiveness that he once did.
In his press conference ahead of the game against West Ham United, Arteta was asked if the ‘accumulation of wear and tear’ on Sterling’s legs is the reason why he is struggling now.
The Arsenal boss completely disagreed.
He said, as relayed on HaytersTV: “I don’t think so. When I see him running, sprinting, accelerating, putting his brakes on in training and in games, I don’t think it’s related to that.”
Sterling’s biggest problem right now
It must be very difficult for Sterling to go through this rough patch.
The Englishman was sensational throughout his time at Manchester City. He was prolific, always created chances and was integral to how Pep Guardiola played.
After leaving City for a struggling Chelsea side, Sterling’s form fell off a cliff, and the 30-year-old has not been able to find his feet since.
At Arsenal, Sterling is in a much better team, but the attacker is lacking one thing – confidence.
Playing just 822 minutes all season and then suddenly being asked to be the main man again is not easy, especially when you’re not in form.
We think a good goal or two for Sterling in the coming games will change his fortunes and help him explode at Arsenal.
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