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£50m player might be finished at Arsenal after what Mikel Arteta has done

Charles Jones

Sat 22 February 2025 17:00, UK

Arsenal lost to West Ham on Saturday, but one of the main talking points from the game may have emerged an hour before the match even kicked off.

Indeed, Mikel Arteta made the bold decision to use Mikel Merino as a striker against the Hammers after his brace against Leicester City last week.

Merino earned a lot of praise for his performance against Leicester, but Merino wasn’t expected to be Arsenal’s starting striker.

However, Arteta opted to play Merino up front in order to deal with the Gunners’ current injury issues.

Kai Havertz is out for the season, and Arsenal have had to find alternative options, leading to Merino starting as a striker.

Of course, for Merino to come into the side, someone else had to drop out, and, on this occasion, it was Raheem Sterling who was snubbed.

Merino didn’t manage to repeat his Leicester heroics against West Ham, but the line-up today certainly didn’t bode well for Sterling.

• READ MORE: ‘World class’ player says he never actually wanted to leave Arsenal

Raheem Sterling could be finished at Arsenal

Mikel Arteta opted to use Merino up front against West Ham, and that’s a decision that had to sting for Raheem Sterling.

Indeed, Sterling was tipped to be Arsenal’s striker in the coming weeks in the absence of Havertz, but after just one game against Leicester, he’s lost his place.

Not only did Sterling lose his place, he’s lost his place to Merino – a player who was signed to be a defensive midfielder.

For any attacker to lose their starting spot is painful, but to lose your spot to a player who isn’t a natural in such a position has to be like a dagger to the heart.

Sadly, this speaks to how Mikel Arteta views the man at the moment, and one has to imagine that the England international now has no future at Arsenal beyond this loan deal.

Sterling may well come back into the side after Merino’s lacklustre outing against West Ham, but it’s quite clear that Mikel Arteta would rather not use Sterling if he can avoid doing so.

Raheem Sterling stats for Arsenal

Sterling looked like a great signing when he arrived on deadline day in the summer transfer window.

Indeed, this was a proven winner who has scored over 100 Premier League goals.

Sterling is a player who knew Mikel Arteta well, and, poignantly, he knew how to play in multiple positions – including striker.

However, things haven’t gone to plan for Sterling at Arsenal, and the stats show it.

Where Sterling goes from here remains to be seen. Sterling is seemingly not in Mikel Arteta’s first-team plans for now, and he’s also unwanted at Chelsea.

After such a poor loan spell with Arsenal, it’s hard to imagine another top Premier League will be in for him in the summer either.

Sterling may have to drop down to a lower-ranked club in the summer, or, he could follow the route of many of his former Chelsea teammates and head to Saudi Arabia.