Raheem Sterling has struggled since making a loan move to Arsenal and Mikel Arteta's decision to leave the winger on the bench against Manchester United has been questioned
LONDON COLNEY, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 25: Raheem Sterling of Arsenal during a training session at Sobha Realty Training Centre on February 25, 2025 in London Colney, England. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Raheem Sterling has struggled since making a loan move to Arsenal
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Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
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Mikel Arteta's decision to leave Raheem Sterling on the bench against Manchester United at the weekend has been called into question by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards.
Sterling has struggled since making a loan switch to Arsenal last summer. With just 22 appearances in all competitions this season, the 30-year-old's time in north London hit a new low on Sunday as Arteta elected to leave Sterling on the sidelines for the draw against United despite the Gunners being in desperate search of a goal.
The introduction of Kieran Tierney over the ex-Manchester City star, with the tie delicately poised at 1-1, only compounded what's been a torrid move for Sterling so far. However, speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Lineker presented a theory that the ex-Chelsea man is suffering from burnout.
The former Leicester City striker asked Shearer and Richards what they made of the England star's conundrum at Arsenal, before referencing Arteta's call to bring on Tierney ahead of him. Shearer admitted that the substitution snub was "damming".
Lineker said: "Yeah, a little, it’s a bit sad. He’s been a brilliant player for club and country for a long time. I wonder the fact that he played so much football at such an early age and brilliant football as well. Maybe that’s taken a toll on him or something, or maybe he’s lacking a bit of confidence or who knows? You know, he’s not ancient, is he?"
Mikel Arteta, Manager of Arsenal, interacts with Raheem Sterling of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC at Emirates Stadium
Mikel Arteta has used Raheem Sterling sparingly since he moved from Chelsea to Arsenal on loan last summer
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Image:
Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Sterling burst onto the Premier League scene at just 17 for Liverpool.Following stints at City, Chelsea, and now Arsenal, he has amassed an incredible 653 top-flight games for club and country, and Shearer agreed with Lineker's hypothesis.
"Yeah, you can tell even that a bit of a spring has gone, and his belief in the confidence when he gets the ball is not that quite that same," he said. "I don’t know, energy or whatever it is that, and I guess that’s maybe confidence as well, because he hasn’t played and when he has played, he hasn’t done so well."
However, Richards contended that Sterling's dip in form is simply down to a lack of sharpness, adding: "He’s played in a team which was winning every single week at Man City, gone to Arsenal for another, you know, a high pressing team, but he’s just missing that sharpness, you know."
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