Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says Manchester City attacker Raheem Sterling won't reach the elite level of the game.

Wenger has doubts about whether the England forward can hit the heights of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

He told beIN Sports: “At the moment I would say no.

“You have always to be careful, I personally like Sterling but when you talk about these guys you are talking about 50 goals a season for 10 seasons.

“So, I think personally that he is not there but he is one of the prominent players in the [Premier] League - which is one of the best in Europe."

The Frenchman believes the 24-year-old has developed since then and he sees shades of former Gunners winger Marc Overmars in him.

“I always thought when he was a young boy, I thought he had unbelievable pace and quantity of power to repeat that pace," Wenger added.

“Both he and [Leroy] Sane are the highest intensity workers in the league, he is so quick on his first two yards, he reminds me of Marc Overmars. That's unstoppable.

“What Sterling didn't have back then was calmness in his finishing but now he has that. Sometimes, with very fast players they want to rush their finish and that's what he has improved.

“He has confidence. He still misses some, his conversion rate could be improved, but he is an exceptional talent and he can cause damage against anybody."