Mikel Arteta says Raheem Sterling is an indirect victim of Arsenal’s injury crisis this season as he explained his lack of minutes.
Sterling has started just four games for the Gunners since joining on loan from Chelsea on transfer deadline day in August.
The last of those starts came back on October 30, when Arsenal travelled to Preston in the Carabao Cup, and Sterling has made just two substitute appearances since then for a total of 23 minutes.
Arteta insists he wants to give the 30-year-old more game time, but injuries and fitness issues with other players have had an impact.
“There’s been moments,” said Arteta. “It’s been tough and very difficult for me as well to accept that I haven’t given him more.
“When he hasn’t started the games, 90 per cent of the subs that I make is related to saving minutes or because of injuries or avoiding injuries. It’s not tactical reasons.
“I would like him to play much more as I think he can impact the team in a very good way. He’s very good in the dressing room and is absolutely desperate to play.
Frustration: Raheem Sterling has struggled to impress during his time on loan at Arsenal so far
Action Images via Reuters
“He had this very important role, impacting every game, and suddenly you are in this position for a while. Not just here but at Chelsea as well.
“So it’s always very difficult and I feel a lot of sympathy for players when they are in this moment. Hopefully we can change it.”
Sterling may have struggled for regular game time at Arsenal, but Arteta has shown a willingness to give young players minutes this season.
Academy graduates Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly have both broken into the first-team squad, and Arteta believes the dressing room environment has been key to that.
“It is unbelievable,” said Arteta. “It is not for me to say, it is for them and they have already expressed the way [the dressing room] makes them feel.
“The way they look after them, the way they can look at certain people and say: ‘Wow, these are the standards I want to become’. That is a great example.
“The academy historically has been very, very successful and strong but there are moments as well. Sometimes you get a lot of players come through in the same position.
“They need time in the squad, they need a role in the squad, and then it is when you throw a player in. That is the key.
“They can be ready but the context in that team, dressing room, moment is not right. Now the work has been done and it is exceptional what everybody has done and now they have the right environment and they are prepared.
“And the jump is so big, from what you ask from them in the Premier League to the Champions League. It is a huge step. But they are showing they are capable of doing it.”