Mikel Arteta has urged Raheem Sterling to step up his game as Arsenal chase Liverpool in the Premier League title hunt. With injuries plaguing key players such as Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka, and Gabriel Martinelli, the Gunners are left with a limited choice of recognised forwards – Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri, and Sterling himself.
Although young prodigy Nwaneri made an impression during the victory at Leicester, Sterling was subbed off to see his replacement Mikel Merino net a pivotal brace. Despite his lacklustre start to life at Arsenal, having been loaned from Chelsea and notching just one goal – which came against Bolton in the Carabao Cup – Sterling is anticipated to feature prominently against West Ham in Saturday’s clash.
Victory for Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium would narrow the gap to Liverpool, who play Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. When quizzed about Sterling’s potential influence on the season, Arteta expressed confidence: “He has to have it because we really need him.
“Raheem is so experienced, and like many other players, we know that what you did yesterday is not whether it was really good or not. That could be relevant to the next game, to the next action. He’s fully focused, he’s trained really well this week, and he is ready to go again.”
Arteta praised Sterling’s move from Chelsea on the final day of the transfer window, but the ex-England international and four-time Premier League champion with City has not been able to replicate his top form. When asked if the 30 year old might be battling with confidence issues, Arteta responded: “Hopefully not because we try to give him as much as possible, but that’s a question for him.
“We are all behind him, we want the best for him and it is important that we need his best. We need players only with that mindset, to impact the team. He is doing everything that he possibly can to make it work.”
Following his late double against Leicester, Merino could once again be deployed as an emergency striker, while defender Ben White, who has been out since November, is set to feature having returned to the bench last Saturday.
Havertz’s injury dealt a significant blow to Arsenal’s title hopes, but Arteta conceded that their victory at Leicester, along with Liverpool drawing two of their last three games, has reignited hope that the title race is still alive. “Yes, they (the players) can recover or flick the switch and say, ‘OK, what is the opportunity now? To do something, again, different, special for him (Havertz), for the team-mates, for all the effort that we have put in for so long again and everything that happened,'” said the Spaniard.
“And it’s been very re-energising as well to say, ‘OK, let’s see if we can do that together again’ and whatever gaps we have within the team, we’re going to fill them in a different way with different players in different ways. We have to do our job. And it’s going to be a tough one tomorrow against West Ham. But if we do that, obviously, we’ll be looking at that game on Sunday.”
