Raheem Sterling has himself to blame for being sidelined at Chelsea after two years of underperforming, believes former Blues star William Gallas.
It was an eventful summer for Sterling as he was left out of the squad by new Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca in the opening games of the season.
It was made clear that the England international was no part of Maresca’s plans and was welcome to find a new club before the transfer window closed.
He did just that and made a loan switch to Arsenal, delighted to make a switch to the Gunners who finished second in the last two Premier League campaigns.
Sterling scored 19 goals across all competitions in his two seasons with Chelsea and Gallas feels that was not enough, nor was the 12 assists he provided.
While some have looked at the very unusual transfer policy at Chelsea and the pretty chaotic running of the club for Sterling’s exit, Gallas thinks the player should be looking at himself.
‘Sometimes players need to blame themselves when things don’t work out at their club. Raheem Sterling was in the situation that he was at Chelsea because he didn’t perform for two years,’ Gallas told Gambling Zone.
‘He didn’t score or create enough goals and the new manager would’ve watched him and made the decision that he doesn’t want him in his squad, that’s not the manager’s fault.
‘Now everybody is interested to see how he does at Arsenal and sometimes players need to feel the love of their manager to get the best out of them. For me personally, I didn’t need to feel that from a manager. Even if the manager didn’t like me I had to make sure I was playing well enough that he couldn’t afford to put me on the bench.’
Despite the criticism for Sterling, Gallas expects his move from west to north London is going to be a successful one for the 29-year-old.
‘I think Raheem Sterling is going to enjoy himself at Arsenal. He had a big smile on his face during the announcement and I think it’s his dream to play for the club,’ said the Frenchman.
‘As a footballer, it’s very important to enjoy yourself on the pitch and to have that passion.
‘His experience of working with Mikel Arteta at Manchester City could help him get back to his best, but we need to see how much he’s got left.’
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