Raheem Sterling had a long 90 minutes at Old Trafford to ponder just how far he has fallen. Joining up with former Manchester City assistant Mikel Arteta should have been a new beginning for the 30-year-old, who has now spent more than two years out of the England picture.
But the Arsenal boss left Sterling to collect dust on the bench in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Manchester United, at a time when the Gunners are missing Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka through injury, while Gabriel Martinelli was only fit enough for a second-half cameo. How Sterling would have killed for one of those in the kind of Super Sunday showdown which he used to stamp his authority on with regularity.
Instead, he failed to find his way into a front-three which included a 17-year-old and a central midfielder who, until four weeks ago, had never played up front in his life.
Sterling’s face grew stonier as Arteta introduced Martinelli, and then Myles Lewis-Skelly, and then Kieran Tierney. And that’s because being completely left out in a time of injury woe sent a ruthless message that will be difficult for the veteran winger to digest.
That is, he is on his way back to Chelsea this summer. In recent weeks it has become clear that Sterling is so far down the pecking order, the starting XI is barely even in view.
And as he comes to the end of a season-long loan agreement which does not include an option or an obligation to buy, that is a perilous place to be. The prospects of Sterling working his way into Enzo Maresca‘s first-team plans at Chelsea appear slim to none.
Last summer, the manager stated in plain terms that he ‘prefers a different kind of winger’. Sterling has done little to change his mind across just nine Arsenal starts in all competitions, which have yielded one goal and one assist.
Chelsea have plenty of choice in wide areas including Noni Madueke, Pedro Neto, Jadon Sancho and Tyrique George. That’s not to mention Mykhaylo Mudryk, whose suspension fate is unknown, and incoming wonderkid Estevao Willian.
Where, then, does that leave big-earner Sterling when he is inevitably put back on the market this summer? Sunday erased any doubt that remaining at the Emirates Stadium is categorically off the cards.
