'I think': Rio Ferdinand delivers his verdict on Raheem Sterling's performance for Arsenal vs Tottenham
Yesterday at 05:31 PM
Raheem Sterling was handed a rare start in Arsenal's North London Derby win against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday evening.
Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side started well, but as has often been the case in the Derby over the years, Son Heung-min was still able to provide a sucker punch at the Emirates Stadium.
For a while, Arsenal's confidence seemed to have taken a hit, an understandable response given defeats last week.
However, Gabriel Magalhaes then well and truly settled things down, proving why Arsenal are more than happy to be called 'Set Piece FC'.
Thereafter, Leandro Trossard took advantage of Antonin Kinsky's erratic goalkeeping, a North London Derby debutant who seemed slightly overwhelmed by the occasion.
Rio Ferdinand thought Raheem Sterling played it safe against Tottenham
That being said, Sterling was also somewhat chucked into the deep end given how little he's played for Arsenal since arriving on loan from Chelsea.
Sterling has scored eight times against Tottenham in the past, but wasn't able to add to that tally in his 61 minutes.
Rio Ferdinand, who was watching the game for TNT Sports, shared his review of Sterling's performance shortly before he was subbed off.
Sterling wasn't poor by any means, but he also didn't quite prove why he should continue on the right ahead of Gabriel Martinelli.
Sharing his verdict, Ferdinand said: "I think he's kept it simple, I don't think he's took too many risks.
"I think there's been opportunities where he's got the defender one vs one and not been as assertive as we'd normally see Raheem Sterling.
"But that may be a lack of confidence and game time I'm sure."
Arsenal need Ethan Nwaneri back from injury as soon as possible
Perhaps Sterling himself will be frustrated on reflection – he had a real opportunity to lay down his marker for the coming weeks.
But as Ferdinand concluded, he seemed to avoid any actions that would risk the ball, but that inhibited anything positive as well.
Of course, Arteta won't spend too long worrying about any negatives from the win, one that was much-needed regardless of how it came.
Arsenal did deserve their three points, even if they missed a ton of chances.
And it was abundantly clear once again why Arsenal are being linked with Dusan Vlahovic and other top strikers across Europe.
