Arsenal reached the semi-final of the Carabao Cup following a 3-2 win over Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.
Gunners manager Mikel Arteta made eight changes for the League Cup tie against the Eagles. Raheem Sterling was one of those who was picked in the XI.
The England international started on the right wing and he had a decent opening half.
The attacker came close to scoring with a brilliant freekick which was tipped over the bar by goalkeeper Dean Henderson.
Arsenal went into the break with a 1-0 deficit, but they stepped up following the interval.
Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard were exceptional in the second half, but Sterling could not make a similar impression.
Sterling had an easy one-on-one scoring chance after Kieran Tierney delivered a peach of a cross, but he fluffed his lines.
The Chelsea loanee also failed to score from the rebound.
Sterling made just 14 passes in 70 minutes. He won only 4 out of 13 duels contested, losing possession on 11 occasions. He received a 5/10 rating from football.London.
The manager has been reluctant to play Sterling over recent weeks and yesterday’s performance probably shows why.
In our view, Arteta has a simple decision to drop him from the starting line-up for the weekend’s league game at Crystal Palace.
Jesus fully capitalised on his opportunity to lead the attack with a hat-trick, but it was a forgettable evening for Sterling.
Sterling could have contested for the left-wing role on Saturday, but his second-half showing has put him out of contention.
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