Gabriel Agbonlahor says £50m player went so far backwards at Arsenal last season

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Arsenal have been a club that has helped players improve massively in recent years.

Indeed, William Saliba has become a superstar at Arsenal, while Declan Rice has hit another level since heading to the Emirates.

Sadly however, Mikel Arteta isn’t able to help every single player he works with reach that next level.

Willian went backwards when he was at Arsenal, while Fabio Vieira has been, mostly, a flop.

Raheem Sterling spent last season at Arsenal on loan from Chelsea, and speaking on TalkSPORT, Gabriel Agbonlahor has been discussing Sterling’s performances for Arsenal last season, and he says he wasn’t the same player at Arsenal.

Raheem Sterling went backwards at Arsenal

Agbonlahor spoke about the £50m man and his performances for Arsenal last season.

The pundit noted that Sterling didn’t look himself last season, claiming that he’s not the same player he used to be.

However, Agbonlahor did argue that Sterling could still do a job for numerous Premier League clubs including Brentford and West Ham.

“He’s not the same player he used to be. We’ve seen that at Arsenal,” Agbonlahor said.

“We’ve seen that at Chelsea. But is there a club in the Premier League that could do with that experience and what he can still offer as a player?

“Yes, there is. Multiple clubs. Your club, Brentford is there West Ham? Is there clubs around that mid-table mark that could do with Raheem Sterling? Yes, at Arsenal last season he didn’t look the Raheem Sterling of Liverpool and Manchester City, but still I think there’s a level in there that he can play in the Premier League.”

Raheem Sterling’s worst seasons analysed

Agbonlahor says Sterling didn’t look himself last season, and he’s not wrong.

Indeed, the winger had the worst season of his career last year at Arsenal.

At the age of 30, Sterling has lost that yard of pace, and he’s not as effective as he once was, but that isn’t to say that he couldn’t be a star for a team like West Ham or Brentford.

We’ve seen ageing wingers do a job at lower-table sides before – Willian and Damien Duff at Fulham are just two examples, and there’s no reason why Sterling couldn’t do the same in the twilight of his career.

Sterling’s time at Arsenal will be remembered as a failure, but he could still get his career back on track if he works hard.