Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta does not trust Chelsea loanee Raheem Sterling to produce key moments on the big stage, and the winger's arrival on deadline day was nothing more than a "panic buy".
That is the view of Gunners expert Charles Watts after the 30-year-old was restricted to another watching brief in Saturday's 0-0 draw with Everton, the third Premier League game in a row where has been an unused substitute.
Sterling has now earned no minutes against Manchester United, Fulham or Everton, despite Arsenal desperately needing a late goal in the latter two games and Arteta telling the media that he wishes he could give the former Liverpool and Manchester City winger more opportunities.
Sterling is expected to start Wednesday's EFL Cup quarter-final with Crystal Palace, but speaking to Sports Mole, Watts concluded that Arteta has little faith in the on-loan Blues winger if he is not going to throw him on when the Gunners are pushing for a late dash of inspiration.
"There's been probably four or five games now this season where Arsenal desperately needed a goal, and Raheem Sterling's been on the bench and he's not come on. I just think that says it all," Watts said.
'Arteta does not trust Sterling to produce big moments'
"As much as Mikel can sit there and say 'I want to give him more minutes', when you need a goal, you've got only attacker you signed in the summer on the bench and you don't bring him on in any of these games, it just shows you don't trust him.
"You don't trust he can produce what you need him to produce in those moments to get you a goal or to keep the shape. Clearly what he's seen from Sterling since Arsenal signed him has not been enough for him to trust him to give him minutes in key moments, and it makes you look back at the summer transfer window and think Arsenal they left themselves light in the attacking department.
"The one player they signed to attack they don't even use and are showing no signs of using him in big games in key moments, and I think that again that adds to a lot of the frustration of what Arsenal did or didn't do in the summer transfer window."
Sterling had been ostracised from Enzo Maresca's Chelsea squad before Arteta extended an olive branch to his former Man City colleague, who has started just four games for the Gunners this term, two in the Premier League and two in the EFL Cup.
From 10 outings in all competitions, the England international has only managed one goal and two assists, and one of his Premier League starts at Bournemouth on October 19 saw him withdrawn after just 37 minutes following William Saliba's red card.
Neither Leandro Trossard nor Gabriel Martinelli have set the Emirates alight this season, but the pair remain above Sterling in the left-wing pecking order, while Bukayo Saka and Ethan Nwaneri are preferred by Arteta on the right-hand side.
Sterling to Arsenal: A "panic buy" but not a "bad deal"
Arsenal's Raheem Sterling celebrates scoring on September 25, 2024© Imago
Asked if Gooners were imploring Arteta to give Sterling more minutes in the Premier League, Watts replied: "I think Nwaneri's dominating that conversation. I don't think there's much push from fans because when Sterling's been on the pitch he hasn't exactly done enough to think he's going to make a big impact here.
"It was a panic buy wasn't it, there's no doubt about it. Even in the video that Edu did straight from the training ground when the deadline passed, he was standing in the dark at London Colney and the first thing he said was 'it wasn't something we were planning to do'. It was an opportunity that arose at the end of the window, they hadn't managed to get in the targets that they wanted and they felt like it was a good deal to do.
"Ultimately I don't think it was a bad deal; Arsenal got him for basically nothing for a season, and if it worked out it was worth the shot because they weren't getting anyone else, but it hasn't worked out. There's still six months to go maybe he'll turn things around, but it's not looking like he will do.
"The way that's panned out and the fact they didn't do anything else in their attack in the summer window, they've definitely left themselves short in a window when you've let out [Eddie] Nketiah, Emile Smith Rowe, Fabio Vieira. Although they weren't regular starters, they played a lot of minutes between them. They've gone and you've not replaced them with anyone that you're using in attack."
Sterling's lack of Premier League and Champions League minutes had led to suggestions that he could cut his loan short in January, but the winger reportedly has no interest in leaving Arsenal before the end of the season.
The Gunners do not have an option or obligation to make his stay permanent, though, meaning that Sterling will head back to Chelsea in the summer ahead of an expected departure from Stamford Bridge, where his contract runs until 2027.
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