Darren Bent claims Man Utd transfer flop would ‘look better’ at Arsenal | Football
Darren Bent has suggested he would ‘take’ a Manchester United transfer flop at Arsenal and says he would ‘look better’ under Mikel Arteta.
Joshua Zirkzee has endured a miserable spell at Old Trafford following his £36.5m move from Atalanta last summer.
Zirkzee impressed in his final season in Serie A and had begun to start playing for the Netherlands when Erik ten Hag brought him to Manchester United.
The 23-year-old enjoyed a promising start to his Red Devils career, scoring on his Premier League debut in a narrow win over Fulham.
However, Zirkzee has only scored two league goals since then, with several pundits suggesting he is not at the level required to play for Manchester United.
Zirzkee was even linked with a move away from Old Trafford during the January transfer window, with clubs in Italy said to be interested in his services despite a barren period in Manchester.
Ex-England striker Bent appears to believe Zirzkee is struggling due to the chaos and wide-ranging issues at Manchester United and says he would look like a different player at title-chasing Arsenal.
‘Arsenal might try to sign Rasmus [Hojlund]!’ Bent joked on talkSPORT after complaining about the lack of forwards at the Gunners.
Presenter Andy Goldstein, a Manchester United fan, responded: ‘I’d give you Zirzkee as well.’
Bent then said: ‘I would take him. He would look better in our team than yours. In our system… he would look better in our system than yours.’
Last month, Netherlands international Zirzkee was brutally labelled ‘one of the worst players to wear the Manchester United shirt’ by ex-Premier League midfielder Jamie O’Hara.
‘Joshua Zirkzee is one of the worst players I’ve ever seen in a Manchester United shirt,’ he told Grosvenor Sport. ‘It’s unbelievable that he’s playing for them. He’s an absolute imposter!’
Zirzkee played the entirety of United’s clash with Everton at the weekend as Ruben Amorim’s side battled back from 2-0 down to secure a point.
‘No one fears United’
Manchester United will expect to win all three on Wednesday night when relegation-battlers Ipswich Town visit the Theatre of Dreams.
Revealing his prediction for the match, former Premier League striker Chris Sutton told BBC Sport: ‘United drew at Ipswich in November, in Ruben Amorim’s first game in charge.
‘Three months on, Ipswich will head to Old Trafford thinking they have a decent chance of beating them. No-one fears United at the moment.
‘You just do not know which United side is going to turn up and, in the first half against Everton on Saturday, they were absolutely woeful.
‘United do deserve some credit for the way they fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Goodison Park – but I am not convinced by them at all.
‘Ipswich ended up losing 4-1 to Tottenham at the weekend but they created a ridiculous amount of chances in that game, and they will get opportunities here too because Liam Delap is such a handful.
‘A win for the Tractor Boys would be huge, especially now the gap to fourth-bottom Wolves has grown to five points, but despite United’s many problems I just have a feeling Amorim will get a win, somehow.’