Darren Bent suggests 22-year-old isn’t good enough to be a regular for Arsenal

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Darren Bent has told talkSPORT that Arsenal need to move on from Eddie Nketiah if they are going to continue moving up the table, and suggested that a club like Brighton would be perfect for the striker.

Nketiah’s future has become a major talking point again after his latest display for the Gunners. He is out of contract in the summer. And previous reports have suggested that he has already told the club that he is leaving.

The 22-year-old has not had the best time in the Premier League. But he has proved a point with his latest performance, scoring a hat-trick in the Carabao Cup tie with Sunderland on Tuesday.

Paul Merson reacted to his performance by urging Nketiah to stay at the Emirates. But Bent has suggested that it would be best for all parties for the forward to move on. And he offered the club that would be the ideal fit for him.

“This is no disrespect to him, but I don’t think he’s good enough, certainly for Arsenal Football Club, to be your main number nine, week-in, week-out.

“Someone like Brighton, for me, that’s the perfect landing spot,” he told talkSPORT. “Brighton create that many opportunities, they’ve got so many good, technical players. All they need Brighton, is someone to stay in and around the box, score goals. Maupay for me, hasn’t been good enough since he’s been there.

“They’ll understand that if Arsenal want to get back to where they want to get to, they’re going to have to move on from him,” he added, when asked whether Arsenal fans would be disappointed to see him go.

“Or certainly, if they want to keep him as backup, they’re going to have to get someone else in above him. Brighton, for him, just makes sense to me.”

Arsenal will lose little by keeping Eddie Nketiah until the summer

Obviously, losing Nketiah at the end of his contract would not be ideal. But they may struggle to attract a significant fee for him in January.

For Arsenal therefore, it surely makes sense to keep him for the rest of the season, unless they receive an amazing offer next month.

Alexandre Lacazette has been superb of late. But no striker has been able to stamp their authority on the position for much of the season. So it is not out of the question for Nketiah to get a chance at some stage.

And if he can transfer his Carabao Cup form to the Premier League, his career path could change dramatically.

The money they could probably expect in January would not make cashing in worthwhile when, clearly, Nketiah does have something about him.