2 weeks Ago By Robin Mumford
Arsenal is set to finish second in the Premier League, with squad depth and injuries hindering their title run. Raheem Sterling's poor performance highlighted his ineffectiveness, lacking in key areas like shots, dribbles, and goals. Arsenal fans heavily criticised Sterling on social media, expressing frustration and disappointment at his underwhelming contributions.
Arsenal were held to a 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium against in-form Crystal Palace on Wednesday night. The Gunners twice led, first through Jakub Kiwior, and again by Leandro Trossard, only for stunning goals from Eberechi Eze and Jean-Phillipe Mateta to condemn Mikel Arteta's side to their 13th draw of the season. Whether it be their inability to turn stalemates into three points or a lack of squad depth that has seen injuries hit them hard this term, Arsenal are now all but confirmed to finish second in the Premier League table for a third successive season, with now just one point separating Liverpool from their record-equalling 20th domestic crown.
In the grand scheme of their season, Wednesday’s result may not have moved the needle, especially with eyes clearly turning toward the looming Champions League semi-final clash against Paris Saint-Germain. But even in a low-stakes outing, one fringe player’s underwhelming performance still managed to fan the flames of frustration among the Arsenal faithful. The supporters aren't happy at all and it's nothing to do with what they've seen from the club on the pitch Raheem Sterling's 'Pitiful' Performance When Arsenal signed Raheem Sterling on loan from Chelsea last summer, the logic was plain to see.
An experienced winger, the England international had a habit of collecting silverware like it was going out of fashion during his Manchester City days. And when Bukayo Saka needed a breather, Sterling was supposed to be the plug-in solution. But Wednesday night only underlined, once more, that the 30-year-old looks well past his sell-by date.
Throughout his 60-minute appearance in N5, he had no shots, no successful dribbles, no accurate crosses, and no long ball attempts. It must have felt like a dramatic fall from grace for an audience so used to seeing one of the best wingers in world football light up the right flank . Having also lost possession five times and winning just one of his five total duels, Sterling simply wasn't up to scratch for a side looking to win their first Premier League title in two decades.
Raheem Sterling's 2024/25 statistics (all competitions) Appearances 26 Minutes played 996 Goals 1 Assists 5 Shots per game 1 Pass success 83.1% Key passes per game 0.7 Successful dribbles per game 1 Sterling has made just 14 appearances in the Premier League this season and is yet to register a single goal in the league with his only strike coming in the Carabao Cup.
It says a lot about his performances that it has been Mikel Merino, a defensive midfielder, who has been trusted to fill the attacking void left by key injuries, and needless to say, the club won't be exploring a permanent switch for Sterling anytime soon. Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Marcus Rashford all feature as the Premier League's highest-paid players are listed. Arsenal Fans Make Feelings Clear About Sterling Even if Stan Kroenke and his recruitment team had plans to keep Sterling beyond this term, social media grumblings suggest Arsenal fans would be quick to protest any possible return for the Chelsea outcast.
"Sterling has absolutely no business playing here let alone start," one fan said on X, believing that Ethan Nwaneri should have been given the nod instead. A second user then added: "Sterling is so bad - we can’t even be bothered to hate on him. It’s just a sense of pity.
" A third Arsenal fan in disbelief remarked: "Raheem Sterling is reaching Denis Suarez levels of Arsenal existence. Cant believe he’s this bad," and a fourth continued: "I think Sterling would struggle in a U12’s match." A final piece of criticism concluded: "Just feel sorry for Sterling at this stage.
Shouldn’t be anywhere near this team. Give the minutes to one of the kids on the bench." All statistics courtesy of WhoScored & Sofascore (correct as of 24/04/2025).
