A conversation between Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta reveals newly announced Gunner Raheem Sterling’s mentality and his greatest strength.
This exchange was captured by Prime Video as part of their documentary on Manchester City, “All or Nothing: Manchester City.” The footage was shot during City’s historic 2017/18 Premier League season when Arteta was Guardiola’s assistant manager.
In a discussion with Arteta, Guardiola recounted a conversation he had with Raheem Sterling following a crucial miss against Burnley in February 2018.
“He’s such a good guy” – Pep Guardiola on Raheem Sterling
“Yesterday, I talked with Raheem, and I have to say, he’s such a good guy,” Guardiola began. “So I asked him four questions: How did you feel after the first action? Did you fail when the ball went up? Was the latter a consequence of the former?”
Sterling responded, “No, no, but I didn’t do what Mikel told me. Instead of attacking the ball, I just put my foot in. I didn’t attack it, and that’s why it went over.”
Guardiola then asked Sterling if he was upset about the miss. Sterling admitted he was “devastated,” adding, “We lost because of my fault. It would have been 0-2. The game would have been over.”
Although the match ended 1-1 at Turf Moor, the confidence and mentality within that City team were so high that they considered a draw as bad as a loss. Guardiola explained to Sterling that he was substituted because of that mistake and that he expected better from him.
“Just so you know, I changed you because of that mistake. You can’t miss a chance like that. I expect you not to make mistakes. I didn’t ask you to pull off a ‘Southampton’ (referencing a game where Sterling scored a late winner), but you can’t miss that one.”
Sterling agreed, saying, “You’re right. I can’t make that mistake. I can’t.” Guardiola was impressed with Sterling’s honesty and sense of responsibility. The correct mentality is crucial in the game today, and Sterling possesses the winning mentality that Arteta desires in his players.
Raheem Sterling’s excellent movement in the box
Arteta then highlighted Sterling’s biggest strength—his movement in the box.
“Pep, the goals he’s scoring aren’t just because he’s improved in one specific area, but because he’s getting into the right place to score more often. He scores plenty of goals like that. Almost all of his first touches are inside the area.”
The statistics back this up. Sterling’s 7.28 touches in the opposition box per 90 minutes rank him in the 94th percentile among attackers. Additionally, during his time at Man City, Sterling consistently ranked among the top players in the league for expected goals (xG) and had one of the lowest average distances for his shots, underscoring his threat in the box. Arsenal needs a goal scorer, and Sterling has proven himself to be one. He is undoubtedly a shrewd signing by the Gunners.
