England forward Raheem Sterling has revealed why he chose to cup his hand to his ear after giving Manchester City the lead in their clash with Arsenal on Sunday.
After smashing the ball past Petr Cech to put City 1-0 up, Sterling wheeled away with his hand to his ear before celebrating with his teammates.
Sterling faced an eventful summer after his participation with England at the World Cup. An image of his controversial tattoo, which shows a gun facing downwards on his leg, hit many of the nations back pages in May, while the forward was also criticised for his performances alongside Harry Kane in Russia.
This criticism saw many leap to the defence of the former Liverpool forward, who scored 23 goals in 46 appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side last season.
When asked about his goal celebration following City’s 2-0 win at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, Sterling told Sky Sports: “It’s the first game of the season, you want to start well and I’m happy to contribute.
“There’s been a lot of talking so I got a little celebration in there.
“It’s just one of those things. I play in an attacking position, it’s what I get judged on (scoring goals) and that’s all.”
An opening day victory for City
2. What happened next? Every previous winner of the prestigious Golden Boy award – https://t.co/n0K2zT9sqg
2010: Mario Balotelli
2013: Paul Pogba
2014: Raheem Sterling pic.twitter.com/VxAJj4nWAH— Squawka Football (@Squawka) August 13, 2018
Sterling played a crucial part in an impressive season opener from City, who eased past Arsenal in Unai Emery’s first Premier League match in charge of the Gunners.
The forward faces increased competition this season following the arrival of winger Riyad Mahrez from Leicester City. Bernardo Silva, who scored City’s second goal on Sunday, is in excellent form, while the likes of Leroy Sané and Kevin De Bruyne were on the bench.
But it was an encouraging start for Sterling, who will need to build on an excellent season with Pep Guardiola’s side in the last campaign.
Sterling was booked for a challenge on Arsenal debutant Matteo Guendouzi on Sunday, with many home fans of the opinion that the City forward should have been sent off.
When asked about the incident on Sunday, Sterling said: “I’ve overrun the ball a little bit. I didn’t intentionally go in to make a bad challenge. It could have gone the other way.”
The post Raheem Sterling explains thinking behind pointed goal celebration against Arsenal appeared first on Squawka News.
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