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Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer share what they’ve now spotted about Raheem Sterling at Arsenal

Lucas Arnold

Mon 10 March 2025 8:43, UK

Although Arsenal were chasing the game for long periods against Manchester United on Sunday, Mikel Arteta opted against introducing Raheem Sterling.

The Chelsea loanee remained on the bench for Arsenal when Arteta actually preferred to play Kieran Tierney at left wing, a player who has already ag🍃reed to leave the club.

It’s a fresh blow for Sterling who has had a pretty torrid time at the Emirates Stadium﷽ since making his deadline day switch from west London last summer.

In total, Sterling has played 22 games for Arsenal thi🌠s season, but the 30-year-old has rarely started in i🔴mportant games, a player who Arteta doesn’t seem to trust.

Sterling arrived at Arsenal to act as Bukayo Saka’s replacement, something the Gunners have lacked in re꧟cent seasons.

However, with Saka out injured, Sterling has♏ still been stuck on the sidelines himself.

Mikel Arteta continues to overlook Raheem Sterling at Arsenal

Following Sterling not even playing a minute against United on Sunday, all of Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards offe🌊red their thoughts on the winger’s situation at Arsenal.

The trio all seღeme♔d to have sympathy for the four-time Premier League winner, who also has 82 caps and 30 goals for his country.

None of the three pundits want⭕ed to criticise Sterling, but they did conclude that he’s somewhat lost his confidence at this stage of his career.

Lineker began: “What diꦚd you make about, I mean, hard to be critical of him because he didn’t get on, but it’s Rahe♈em Sterling.

“They even brought Tierney on and then played him quite far forwardไ.”

Shearer replied: “Pretty damning, isn’t it?”

Lineker: “Yeah, a little, it’s a 🔴bit sad. He’s been a brilliant pla💟yer for club and country for a long time.

“I wonder the fact that h𓆏e played so much football at such an early age and brilliant football as well.

“Maybe t🌺hat’s taken a toll on him or something, or maybe h🌃e’s lacking a bit of confidence or who knows? You know, he’s not ancient, is he?”

READ MORE: Edu’s comments🐬 when Arsenal signed Raheem Sterling are now 𒉰very alarming after his lack of minutes

Shearer: “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, 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.”

Richards added: “I think it’s just that sharpness, isn’t it? I think 🐬he’s ha♉d injuries, he goes to Chelsea in a different system, didn’t really see the best of him.

“H♕e’s played in a team which was winning every single week at Man City, gone to Arsenalꦆ for another, you know, a high pressing team, but he’s just missing that sharpness, you know, with Raheem.”

Raheem Sterling’s numbers since leaving Manchester City

In terms of Sterling’s decline, he arguably hasn’t been the same player since he swapped Man City 🙈for Chelsea🌊 back in 2022.

Sterling arrived at Stamford Bridge for a very big fee, bu꧑t he wasn’t able to replicate the form which made him so successful under Pep Guardiola.

READ MORE: The one league Raheem 🅘Sterling has previously said he’d leave England for as winger continues to struggle at Arsenal

Incidentally, Sterling 🎉hasn’t won a cap for England since October 2022, which was thre🍌e or so months after he joined Chelsea.

Sterling reportedly still has a contract with the w🐼est Londoners until 2027, ꦍmeaning it will be interesting to see what happens when he returns to Enzo Maresca’s side this summer.

A difficult situation, but it’s credit to Sterling that he’s maintained such a brilliant attitude during hi൲s struggles at Aဣrsenal this season.

Sterling has been brilliant behind the scenes and has been an excellent influence on the likes of Ethan Nwaneri, who is actually now starting ꧃ahead of him.