Arsenal won against Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening, but Gunners manager Mikel Arteta was reportedly not happy with one of his players.
The Gunners beat Premier League rivals Palace 3-2 at home in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus was the star of the show, as the former Manchester City player scored a hat-trick.
Raheem Sterling also featured for Arsenal in the match. Manager Mikel Arteta included the winger, on loan from Chelsea, in the starting line-up and took him off in the 70th minute.
According to Football.London, Arteta was not happy with Sterling during the game. The report has claimed that the Arsenal boss was “shouting toward Sterling to get into certain positions” for much of the first half.
Football.London has noted that at one point in the second half, as many as five Arsenal players turned and shouted towards Sterling, urging him “to come closer to his teammates to narrow the spaces”.
“Gabriel Jesus in particular could be seen trying to get a message over to the winger,” adds the report.
View: Raheem Sterling’s performance is worrying for his future
Sterling has not been great since his move to Arsenal on loan from London and Premier League rivals Chelsea in the summer of 2024.
The 30-year-old former Liverpool and Manchester City winger has failed to establish himself in the Arsenal starting line-up, and when he has played, as he did against Palace, he has failed to make a huge impact.
The winger has made only two starts in the Premier League for Arsenal this season. He has made four substitute appearances in the competition as well.
As good a player as Sterling is, the harsh truth is that he is now a squad player at Arsenal. That is not going to change anytime soon.
Against Palace in the Carabao Cup quarter-final tie on Wednesday evening, Sterling, who could have joined West Ham United last summer, lacked quality when he had the ball and was out of position off it.
The winger missed an easy chance from just two yards out. Bukayo Saka, who replaced Sterling in the 70th minute, provided an assist and made a bigger impact.
While it is unlikely that Arsenal or Sterling would want to cut short his loan spell, it is hard to see the Gunners keeping the winger at the club beyond the end of the season.