Darren Bent tells Mikel Arteta he's made Arsenal call he doesn't 'want to see' again

Arsenal are one of just three Premier League teams that have won both of their opening games.

In both of those matches, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta opted to name Thomas Partey at right-back.

This decision has split the Arsenal fanbase, with some in favour and others fully against it.

TalkSPORT pundit and Gunners supporter Darren Bent is in the latter camp.

Speaking on the radio station, Bent says he doesn’t want to see Partey at right-back again.

He says the “foundation” of Arsenal involves a midfield three of Partey, Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard.

Andy Goldstein asked Bent whether he wanted to talk about Kai Havertz, who struggled on Monday.

“No,” began the former striker, in a video talkSPORT shared on their YouTube channel.

“It’s almost like Mikel Arteta is trying his hardest to get him in. He hasn’t got him in.

“Listen, he’s an Arsenal player, I’m going to support him, but I still think Arsenal’s best midfielder is Partey.

“I don’t want to see Partey at right-back.

“Bring Gabriel back in. (The defence should be) Ben White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko.

“Partey, Rice, Odegaard. That midfield three is where the foundation is.”

Our view

You can understand why some Arsenal fans don’t agree with the Partey right-back setup.

Partey is an outstanding midfielder, and it may look like he’s being wasted on the right of defence.

Meanwhile, Havertz is yet to fully convince for Arsenal.

However, you could see what Arteta was doing. He was looking to create a midfield overload.

Partey has experience of playing at right-back earlier in his career, so he’s the obvious choice there.

And so far, it has worked. Arsenal have got two wins against tricky opposition.

Different opponents, different strategies.

No doubt Partey will return to midfield in big games against opponents who’ll seek to attack.