Manchester City’s promising forward Raheem Sterling has hit a trifecta of problems recently with England’s manager, British news media and anti-gun violence advocates, but are they really problems? 

After word broke out that Sterling had tattooed an M16 assault rifle on his right leg, which he posted on Instagram during training, the 23-year-old didn’t have much time before being bashed by British tabloids. England’s The Sun placed Sterling’s Instagram photo on its front page on Tuesday and titled it “Raheem shoots himself in the foot.” 

Manchester City out-possessed Newcastle United 78%-22%, out-passed them 824-228 and outshot them 21-6, but Raheem Sterling’s goal off another sublime Kevin De Bruyne assist was the only difference in Wednesday night’s encounter at Saint James’ Park.

City’s winning streak hit 18 matches while the gap on second-place Manchester United grew to 15 points, but Rafa Benitez’s charges could’ve put a halt to their run in a manner which would’ve had Pep Guardiola guzzling his traditional post-match champagne. 

Manchester City maintained their eight-point gap at the top of the Premier League table thanks to Raheem Sterling’s 95th minute winner against Southampton on Wednesday. Sterling’s ninth goal of the campaign (more than the likes of Alvaro Morata and Romelu Lukaku) was an absolute beauty, and it continued his remarkable penchant for the dramatic this season.

Danel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling played a game in which Sterling was made to guess which of Sturridge's traits was rated higher in FIFA 2018: pace, shooting or dribbling. Sterling narrowed it down to either pace or shooting, before finally guessing pace.

Reader, he was wrong. And then he was even more wrong than he thought he was.

Sturridge finding out that his FIFA pace is at 76 is hilarious pic.twitter.com/UoVPI6LjIO