Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal silenced any doubters with a 2-1 win over local rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. However, it was Raheem Sterling’s 61-minute performance that dominated the post-match conversation, despite securing all three points.
After Arsenal enjoyed overwhelming possession from the start, Spurs captain Son Heung-min opened the scoring within 25 minutes, although the home side failed to clear their lines from a corner kick. However, the home side’s persistence paid off after 15 minutes.
Arteta’s side took the lead just before the interval when Leandro Trossard’s shot in the 44th minute was not saved by Antonin Kinski’s soft palms, before Dominic Solanke leveled the score with a goal from the opposite flank. I caught up.
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Arsenal won the North London derby on Wednesday night.
And while players like Martin Odegaard and Gabriel will be basking in the praise after the match, the same cannot be said for Sterling. The Englishman failed to make much of an impact until he was replaced by Gabriel Martinelli after just 30 minutes.
It’s unfair that he hasn’t signed on the same hymn sheet as his team-mates, and that was evidenced by his performance against Spurs, who are 11 places below the title-chasing team. It is silverware that has eluded the Gunners for some time and the addition of experience was crucial to Arsenal’s future title aspirations.
As a way to strengthen the team with such expertise, Arteta and his entourage turned to the unconventional Sterling, considered one of the greatest English attackers in football history, in the summer and signed him. It’s a temporary deal to bring in a winning streak mentality.
Since joining from Chelsea in August, he has made 12 appearances in all competitions (equivalent to 506 minutes), registering just one goal and two assists. Overall, he’s good at deceiving.
Against coach Ange Postecoglou’s team, they missed two dribbles and gave up the ball 13 times. In addition to that, the four-time Premier League winner took 47 touches, but completed just 80% of his passes (20/25).
Arsenal supporters took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their faith, or apparent lack of faith, in the abilities of the experienced England international following their side’s North London derby victory.
One person wrote: “I’ve always said he’s overrated. He has no football intelligence and plays two levels below other players. His shots either go off target or go off target. It hit me right in the middle of the goal.”
Another fan admitted Sterling, who has plied his trade in England’s top flight for years, looked “a little rusty” but played with little nervousness and played with little nerve in such an important game. I wrote that it is a necessary element. .
“TNT news agency was right. He played too safe and had no sense of urgency. The attack was slow. He needed to run to the Spurs defenders, but he didn’t run much. A little rusty. Maybe.”
Another supporter claimed he was one of the club’s biggest transfer thorns, saying: “He should never play for us again. I’ve never seen a game of redemption. Mistakes happen, and he is one of them. We need a top-class winger to compete with the others in Saka’s absence.”
All stats per Sofascore – correct as of 15/01/25
