LONDON // The end, when it came, was sudden. Liverpool’s league season, reinvigorated by a superb run since December, fizzled out in a seven-minute spell before half time in which Arsenal scored three times.
But that was not the only consequence of Liverpool’s defeat at the Emirates — and neither was the maintenance of Arsenal’s slim hopes of winning the title. As Liverpool’s players left the pitch at the final whistle, it was notable how wide a berth many of Raheem Sterling’s teammates gave him.
The forward is only 20, and much of the blame of the unpleasant turn his contract negotiations have taken must fall on his agent, Aidy Ward.
But it can hardly be denied that by giving an unauthorised interview to the BBC, in which he spoke of how he would love to join Arsenal shortly before a game against Arsenal, he destabilised Liverpool ahead of a vital match.
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And, of course, Arsenal’s win, by effectively ending Liverpool’s hopes of qualifying for the Uefa Champions League, makes the prospect of him staying at Anfield next season all the less appealing.
That, in turn, may have consequences: if Sterling leaves after Luis Suarez’s departure last summer, which other players may start to wonder about the viability of Liverpool’s long-term project?
Brendan Rodgers was keen to absolve Sterling of blame, suggesting “other forces” were at work.
“There’s been no change in Raheem,” he said. “He was our best player. I thought he was excellent today. He’s a kid who’s focused on his football. A 20-year-old boy doesn’t pick up the phone and ask to speak to the BBC.
“There’s a lot of very, very good agents, but anyone can see from his football — and financial — development that Liverpool is the best place for him. There’s no question about that. He’s had the opportunity to play, which is key for young players. He’s more tactically aware, technically improved.”
Sterling’s contract does not expire until summer 2017, and Rodgers was adamant he will not be allowed to leave in the summer.
“I had a good chat with him [after the interview] and he got my opinion,” Rodgers said, although he acknowledged missing out on Champions League football was an issue.
“I think he enjoys playing for Liverpool. He’s said that himself. It is [difficult to keep a player without the Champions League] but also under contract, and if a player can see the ambition of the club …”
Rodgers was being generous to Sterling. His performance — largely ineffectual until he won an essentially meaningless late penalty — raises the question of how many clubs would want to sign him on wages of more than £100,000 (Dh548,000) a week.
He is gifted, of course, but is any player who has played well for only a year in the Premier League worth that? Certainly Arsenal seem well enough stocked in his position, with both Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil having excellent games.
For the second game running, Rodgers was left to lament his side’s lack of intensity from the off, the use of Jordan Henderson as a wing-back and Joe Allen and Lucas Leiva in the centre depriving them of drive through the middle.
Really, though, the dream of Champions League qualification cannot be blamed on the defeats against Arsenal and United, a fortnight ago.
Liverpool’s season was undone by a run of six defeats in their first 12 games; it has taken a remarkable run for them even still to be challenging at this stage.
That might hint at an upwards trajectory; Rodgers’s job is to persuade Sterling of that.
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