Arteta says he feels ‘a lot of sympathy’ for Sterling | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta says he feels “a lot of sympathy” for Raheem Sterling because of his lack of game time at Arsenal so far.

Sterling joined the Gunners on loan from Chelsea in the summer but has been an unused substitute in the last three games under Arteta.

The Arsenal boss spoke recently about his desire to give Sterling more opportunity and reiterated that aim again when asked about his role.

“It’s been tough and very difficult for me to accept that I haven’t given him more,” Arteta said.

“But that’s the context we’ve been in. He hasn’t started the games and 90% of the subs I’ve made are related to saving minutes or because of injuries or avoiding injuries, not tactical reasons.

“I would like to play him much more because I think he can impact the team in a very good way.

“He’s been desperate to play. I’ve known him for many, many years as well. He’s had a very important role and impacting games and suddenly you are in this position. It’s been for a while now, not only here but when he was at Chelsea as well.

“That’s always very difficult and I feel a lot of sympathy for players when they are in this moment and hopefully we can change it.”