Former Tottenham and England star Darren Bent has slammed Arsenal for failing to strengthen across a ‘poor’ January transfer window and believes the club have actually ‘gone backwards’.
Mikel Arteta had made no secret of his desire for reinforcements heading into the winter market, with the Spaniard reportedly prioritising a move for a proven goalscorer up front to boost the Gunners’ top-four chances this season.
But Auston Trusty – who will return to Colorado Rapids on loan – was Arsenal’s only new recruit as the window slammed shut, while defenders Sead Kolasinac and Calum Chambers completed free transfers to Marseille and Aston Villa respectively.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles, meanwhile, sealed a loan move to Roma and Barcelona are expected to announce a temporary deal for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the coming hours.
It means Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah are Arsenal’s only recognised centre-forwards for the second half of the campaign and Bent feels an injury or suspension would likely derail Arsenal’s top-four push.
‘For me it’s been poor, really poor,’ the ex-England striker said on talkSPORT.
‘I get it with the Aubameyang situation, him and the manager have clearly had a falling out. I can understand why they’ve let him go because if he didn’t go and the manager then had to bring him back into the squad, that shows weakness. So I don’t think Mikel Arteta could have done that.
‘But the fact there is half a season left and you go with Nketiah and there are questions marks around whether he’s good enough at the top level. The jury is still out on that one.
‘We know he [Nketiah] scores a lot of goals in the League Cup, in the FA Cup, but does he ever really score in the Premier League? I know he’s not really been given the opportunity, but that’s one question mark.
‘Lacazette as well has not been a prolific goalscorer for a number of…
Source : metro
