Shutting Down Raheem Sterling Is the Biggest Test for Arsenal's Defence

If Arsene Wenger and Arsenal have been devising a plan to deal with Raheem Sterling ahead of Sunday’s clash against Liverpool, their preparations probably haven’t been helped by the past week.

In an otherwise dull season so far, Sterling has been Liverpool’s one shining light, illuminating a dismal campaign as much as he can. With the shadow of Luis Suarez still cast over Anfield, the youngster is the one player Liverpool have that can still strike fear into even the hardiest of opponents. 

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But while Sterling started off as a mercurial winger, adding a final product to his game in the latter stages of last season, he has since been moved into a more central role, and in recent games against Manchester United and Bournemouth, he has even been used as a striker.

What’s more, the positional switch seems to have worked, with Liverpool turning in arguably their two most productive performances of the season with Sterling as their No. 9, despite the 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford.

Sterling has now played all up across—and up and down—the Liverpool front line under Rodgers, who has recognised that his innate qualities as an attacker could be better utilised in a more central position, rather than on the wing.

So how do Arsenal prepare for Sterling and the threat he will carry on Sunday, given that nobody seems certain of where the 20-year-old will play? They only plan to combat his traits as a player, rather than the position he will fulfil. 

Quite simply, Wenger must make sure that there is as little space in behind his defence for Sterling to exploit as possible. The Gunners have been guilty of employing a risky high line in big games gone by. They can’t afford to make the same mistake against Liverpool.

Wenger must pack his back line with as much pace and acceleration as possible. That means that there should absolutely be no place for Per Mertesacker, whose qualities as a physically imposing, yet sluggish, centre-back would be completely wasted in a contest of this nature.

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Of course, Arsenal will carry a similar potency themselves, with Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck among the most effective counter-attacking forces in the Premier League. And with Liverpool’s defence also guilty of listlessness this season, they too will risk falling victim to the pace and power of their opponent.

In fact, the respective front lines of Arsenal and Liverpool are so similar in style that Brendan Rodgers compared the footling personality of floating forward Sterling to that of the Gunners’ sparking talisman.

“You get different types of strikers,” explained Rodgers after his side’s 3-1 Capital One Cup win over Bournemouth on Wednesday, as per Adam Bate of Sky Sports. “He’s more of an Alexis Sanchez when he plays as a striker—he’s not going to pin the defender. He plays in the spaces and he’s got the speed to get in behind.”

And Wenger has even drawn parallels between Sanchez and the striker who carried Liverpool to within three points of the title last season, Suarez. “There are similarities with (Luis) Suarez a little bit by going at you, by being where you do not expect him to be in the box, and by having that huge desire to be at the end of things,” said the Frenchman last month, as per Jim Van Wijk of the Daily Mail.

Anfield is a venue that holds painful memories for Arsenal, given that they were 4-0 down within 20 minutes when they last visited Liverpool. While the fortunes of the Reds may have shifted dramatically, the threat that they pose hasn’t. Last season, the Gunners buckled in the face of raw speed and power. Sterling has the capacity to inflict the same punishment on them this time around too.