London — From the "hated one" to the hero of Manchester City’s record-setting run, Raheem Sterling has come a long way in the past 18 months. When he arrived for pre-season training with City, the England winger faced an uncertain future amid talk Arsenal wanted to sign him as part of a deal that would send Alexis Sanchez to Manchester. Being mooted as a makeweight in a deal that eventually fell through was hardly an encouraging sign for Sterling, who had struggled to live up to the hype after his £45m move from Liverpool in 2015. But Sterling has flipped the script so effectively that he is now firmly established as one of City’s key men as they chase Premier League and Champions League glory. Sterling has become so essential to City’s success that when his team face Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday, he could find himself in the privileged position of being rested by Pep Guardiola ahead of Sunday’s crunch derby clash at title rivals Manchester United. City are ...
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