Darren Bent remains unimpressed by Mikel Arteta and has urged Arsenal to sack the Spaniard if they can sign Antonio Conte.
After promising a rebuild in the summer, Mikel Arteta went into Arsenal’s opening day loss against newcomers Brentford with a somewhat depleted squad. His primary strikers and central midfielder absent, the Spanish manager endured a morale-sapping defeat while also increasing the pressure on his head.
Arteta’s FA Cup win was critical to instil the Arsenal board’s faith in him, and so far, the club has sufficiently backed him in the transfer market. The signings of Ben White, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares this summer highlights the fact, as the trio cost over £75 million in transfer fees alone.
More signings are expected before the transfer period ends, but many calls for the manager to be replaced based on their opening day drama. Arsenal needs to strengthen in three vital positions before August 31st, and there’s enough evidence the manager will be around to see that happen.
However, many of those criticising Arteta point their finger towards the available managers in football, and Antonio Conte seems like the prime candidate. After leaving Inter Milan unceremoniously following their Scudetto win, the Italian is a free agent now.
? “We seem to be going backwards!”
? “If they can get someone of Antonio Conte’s level, you’ve got to get them.”
Darren Bent says #AFC must sack Arteta, if they were able to sign Conte as manager. pic.twitter.com/daLErbisIr
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) August 18, 2021
Sure Conte has a favourable track record wherever he has managed, winning five league titles in his last seven years of club management. However, the Italian is not a cheap prospect and will cost money. With Arsenal already placing their eggs in the Arteta basket, it’s hard to see him replaced, barring a bad run of form from now on.
However, former Tottenham and Sunderland striker Darren Bent suggests the club should snap up Conte if he’s available and sack Arteta immediately. The basis of the statement comes after Arsenal’s opening day defeat, which somehow suggests the club are on a downward trajectory.
The Mirror posted parts of Bent’s statements from his episode on TalkSport, where the former striker suggested Arteta be sacked and replaced by Conte. Bent said, “It’s tough to watch. The performance against Brentford was poor, they were bullied. It wasn’t good to watch, and I felt sorry for Ben White.
“If we want to get back to the good times, you sack Mikel Arteta and bring in someone like Antonio Conte. They are spending a lot of money on new players, and we seem to be going backwards. With Conte, it’s a different kettle of fish. If they can get Conte, you get him. But would Antonio Conte come? I don’t know. If they’ve got an inkling that they can get Conte, sack Arteta.”
Like we said before, if Arteta goes on a bad run of games starting with the Chelsea clash, the pressure could mount on him. Although with more players expected to join in the coming days, Arsenal seem to have placed their trust in the manager to build the squad for the future.
Martin Odegaard is close to joining, while Sheffield United goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale is a deal all but done. A club like Arsenal won’t sign off on these sorts of signings if they are about to sack their manager; on the contrary, they are set to stick with him.
