Mikel Arteta admits ‘mistake’ with Arsenal star ahead of Chelsea clash

Mikel Arteta admits he has made a mistake by not playing Raheem Sterling in Arsenal’s last two defeats.

Sterling, who joined on loan from Chelsea in the summer transfer window, was left as an unused substitute in Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United at St James’ Park last Saturday.

The 29-year-old then remained on the bench in Milan as Arsenal were beaten 1-0 by Inter in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.

Sterling is ruled out of Arsenal’s Premier League trip to Stamford Bridge this Sunday as he is ineligible to play against his parent club Chelsea.

And Arteta concedes that Sterling should have been utilised in Arsenal’s past two defeats.

‘That was a decision of mine, nothing to do with Raz,’ Arteta said.

‘Somebody got it wrong and it was me.

‘It’s the feeling that you have and the understanding of how you can damage the opponent and picking a different player with a different profile for that moment.’

Asked if Sterling has a ‘big role to play’ in Arsenal’s campaign, Arteta replied: ‘Yes.’

Speaking about Arsenal’s struggles in front of goal, Arteta said: ‘It is a concern because you need goals to win games consistently.

‘We need to find solutions and the solutions at the end are goals. It has to be goals, that’s where we can judge if that solution is good, only if the ball ends up in the back of the net. That’s the secret of this job.’

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