Raheem Sterling told to stand up and ‘seize Arsenal opportunity’

Raheem Sterling has been told to take a look in the mirror in a bid to turn his dismal Arsenal loan spell around.

The 30-year-old was deemed surplus to requirements by Chelsea in the summer before joining the Gunners on deadline day on loan.

Sterling announced ‘you’re about to see the best of me’ upon his arrival at the Emirates Stadium where he was reunited with Mikel Arteta.

The Arsenal boss was credited in playing a key role in Sterling’s development at Manchester City where he cemented a reputation as one of European football’s most feared wingers.

Rather than provide a launchpad to kickstart his flagging career, Sterling’s spell in north London has only served to heighten the fear that his best days are behind him.

A raft of injuries provided Sterling with a are opportunity to impress from the start against Leicester City on Saturday, but he failed to make any impact and was replaced by the eventual matchwinner Mikel Merino with 20 minutes remaining.

Despite another lacklustre display, the absences of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli mean Arteta has little option but to rely upon Sterling playing his way back into form.

Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan, however, fears that plan is doomed to failure with the writing firmly on the wall for a player whose career appears to be in terminal decline.

He told talkSPORT: ‘Now whether Sterling is going to do anything meaningful, I don’t think it’s about getting Sterling right it’s about getting himself right.

‘There is a clue in the title, didn’t want him at Man City and slung him off to Chelsea. Didn’t do bugger all at Chelsea and they slung him back to Arsenal.

‘Somewhere along the line someone is going to have look at the player and say it’s about time you stood up because there’s a clear opportunity for him to take.

‘You give him the opportunity and I suspect the way Merino comes on and changes the game is because the preferred option was Sterling and Trossard and the other young boy who I agree is a remarkable talent coming out of their academy.’

Later in the same show, addressing the issues currently engulfing Sterling’s parent club, Jordan tore into fans who claimed the Blues made a mistake in allowing the former Three Lions star to leave.

He said: ‘I sat on this show with people going ‘poor old Raheem Sterling’. I said ‘he’s crap, sling him out the door’.

Arteta was asked about Sterling’s performance against the Foxes last weekend but the Arsenal boss claimed the winger’s ineffectiveness wasn’t all his own fault.

‘Everybody [needs rhythm],’ he said.

‘In the first half, especially in the first 20-25 minutes, we weren’t at our standards and when that happens, you look to the front players. ‘