Raheem Sterling has not received many opportunities for Arsenal since joining the club on loan from Chelsea and Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has now explained the reasons why
Mikel Arteta has insisted Raheem Sterling’s lack of game time so far this is season is not down to “tactical reasons”.
Sterling joined Arsenal on loan on transfer deadline day over the summer after he was frozen out at Chelsea by Enzo Maresca, but the forward has made just four starts across all competitions for the Gunners.
His last start came in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Championship side Preston in the Carabao Cup on October 30, but the 30-year-old has made just two appearances off the bench since then and Arteta has now explained why Sterling has not played more.
“There’s been moments,” Arteta said ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Everton. “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. 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.”
Although Sterling has struggled for opportunities at Arsenal this season, Arteta has given more game time to teenage prospect Ethan Nwaneri and also handed chances to fellow academy graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly.
“It is unbelievable,” Arteta said of the duo. “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.
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