Raheem Sterling shows true Arsenal colours with perfect five-word message before Real Madrid

Raheem Sterling has shared a defiant five-word message after winning Arsenal's player-of-the-match during their Champions League round of 16 second leg tie against PSV Eindhoven.

Leading 7-1 after the first leg at Philips Stadion, Arsenal took the lead on the night in the sixth minute courtesy of Oleksandr Zinchenko. Fed by Sterling, Zinchenko, who started in their midfield three, cut inside on to his favoured left foot before before curling the ball into the corner from the edge of the box.

It felt as though Arsenal could turn the match into another comfortable one, as they did in Eindhoven last week, but PSV responded and equalised on 18 minutes. Former Tottenham star Ivan Perisic was the man that scored, as he dug the ball from under his feet and slotted the ball into the top left corner.

While that was a memorable moment for the travelling PSV supporters, who didn't have much to shout about during the reverse fixture, Arsenal went back ahead on the night just before half-time. This goal was crafted by Sterling, who whipped in a delightful cross from the right to Declan Rice who powered home.

Although PSV levelled for a second time on the night in the second half through Couhaib Driouech, the Gunners sailed into the quarter-final with a 9-3 win on aggregate.

A 2-2 draw in the second leg against PSV may not mean much in the grand scheme, but it's a match that could prove to be a break for Sterling, who has endured a difficult time since his loan move from Chelsea last summer. But the England international was impressive after being handed a rare start.

As well as grabbing two assists, Sterling was a constant threat on the right flank and was given the player-of-the-match award by UEFA for his efforts. And in an Instagram post after the match, Sterling said: "Quarter Finals [white heavy check mark emoji]. Whole Team Effort [clapping hands sign emoji and red circle emoji]."

Speaking on Sterling's performance, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said: "I was very happy for him, and for a lot of individuals as well that haven't had a lot of minutes recently.

"We could tell in the second half, that we lacked the physical capabilities to make certain efforts and runs and certain arrivals into certain spaces in the right time. But overall, very happy that they got the minutes and they responded."

When asked about Sterling's confidence after his second goal contribution, Arteta went on: "Yeah, in the second one, and then he does the last final action as well that he can score.

"The goalkeeper makes a save and the way he tracked back as well after the corner in the last action when he got booked, that's the kind of player we want to see."

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