Arsenal must be patient with Raheem Sterling

The enigma that is Raheem Sterling will continue to tie pundits, analysts, fans, coaches, and probably even teammates, in knots. Is the winger an efficiency machine whose pace and goals will never go out of fashion? Or is Sterling nothing more than the by-product of a career disproportionately inflated by early promise?

There are no easy answers, but Arsenal can afford to wait. In fact, the Gunners and boss Mikel Arteta should be patient with Sterling, despite him making a less-than-spectacular start to his career in the red half of north London.

Too easily muscled off the ball during Arsenal's 3-1 win over Southampton last time out, Sterling not only gifted the visitors the break for their goal, he also misfired more than once at the other end of the pitch. The tepid performance raised doubts, even at this early stage, about whether Sterling has enough left to be a factor for a team pushing for the Premier League title.

Patience will be rewarded because of the tactical possibilities Sterling offers to Arteta and Arsenal's attack. You get the impression nothing makes Arteta happier than chucking some counters on the board and making and altering shapes. There's always an army of hipster fans and even trendier talking heads ready to proclaim any Arteta creation as a game-changer.

Changing the game won't be the reward for persevering with Sterling, but the 29-year-old will give Arsenal options. He can play on either wing, off the striker or even through the middle as a de facto false nine. Sterling did all of those things to varying degrees of success for Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea.

Moving Sterling around in similar ways is how Arteta keeps a potentially predictable Arsenal forward line from going stale.

Raheem Sterling makes Arsenal unpredictable in attack

Sterling doesn't always keep fans guessing in a good way. Will he trip over the ball again? Will he go on a run and forget to take the ball with him? Will he somehow pull a cross behind three players playing rock, paper, scissors for the right to tap into an empty net?

That's not kind of guessing game Arteta wants to be playing, but a little unpredictability of the right kind can be a good thing. It's a quality this Arsenal team lacks in the final third.

Bukayo Saka cuts in from the right for another episode of the Arjen Robben tribute act. Kai Havertz bundles in a scrappy finish. A central defender heads in a set-piece. Rinse and repeat.

Arsenal's route to goal is efficient and effective, but it also risks becoming overly familiar during the course of a long campaign. The Gunners will need a sudden infusion of something different at a key moment on the calendar if this group is going to finally lift the biggest domestic prize.

Sterling can provide the X-factor because of two qualities, his pace and intelligence. There's no need for another word poem about the first attribute. He's quick. Real quick. Simples.

The second quality often gets left out of assessments of Sterling's game. He's a shrewd mover who knows how to time thoughtful runs.

Watch how Sterling slowed his movement to stay onside, then bent his run and accelerated to finish this classy goal for City against Everton in 2021.

This is just one of many examples of Sterling using a keen eye to track the play and adjust his movement to be in the right place at the right time. The angled run highlighted here also used to be a calling card for Arsenal, back in the days of more free-flowing, but admittedly less-efficient, football.

Variety is the spice of the life in the final third, and Sterling provides it thanks to the many sudden, darting runs he makes. Like this late burst through the middle from deep to score a beauty against West Ham in 2019.

The expiration date on this goal has long since passed, but it's still significant because it was scored on Arteta's watch. He was a member of Pep Guardiola's coaching staff at the time, and Arteta is often credited as the catalyst for Sterling's best football.

Arteta knows the many ways Sterling can be effective. He'll also know an in-form Sterling increases the combinations Arsenal can use up top.

Raheem Sterling increases Arsenal's attacking combinations

Even a quick countdown shows how much Sterling will expand the possibilities for Arsenal in attack, once he's fully up to speed. He might even allow Bukayo Saka to get a rest. Arteta just broke some furniture at the Emirates Stadium in response to the mere suggestion of Saka not playing every available second of a competitive campaign, but the Gunners' star boy needs a rest every now and then.

It could happen if Sterling took up residence through the middle, while Gabriel Jesus slotted in on the right. Guardiola used the same combination effectively at City, and reviving the plan could help perennially out of sorts Jesus get back on track.

Alternatively, Sterling can make his preferred left wing berth his own and allow a resurgent Gabriel Martinelli to get some playing time through the middle. Deploying the club's best finisher centrally is a worthy experiment, even though Havertz is maturing as a leader of the line.

Speaking of Havertz, he's still somebody the gaffer doesn't mind shifting to the tip of midfield. It's a useful ploy when Martin Odegaard is injured and Leandro Trossard is doing his best to cover.

Those are just the broad strokes of what the Sterling plan can look like. Whatever the strategy, he can add the extra juice Arsenal need to outpace City in this season's title race.

In the meantime, there'll be some bumpy moments, like against the Saints, but Sterling's eventual impact will be worth the wait.

READ THE LATEST ARSENAL NEWS HERE!