Mikel Arteta had a player better than Bruno Fernandes, but he forced him out of Arsenal.
Love him or loathe him, it’s impossible to deny that Fernandes will go down in history as one of the best modern-day Premier League midfielders.
The Manchester United captain splits opinion between rival fans, particularly Arsenal supporters, who aren’t the biggest admirers of the 31-year-old.
Therefore, some fans might appreciate Darren Bent’s recent take on Fernandes, ranking four former Arsenal midfielders ahead of the Portuguese star.
Bruno Fernandes becomes available right now, are you taking him at Arsenal at the expense of another player?
Darren Bent says Mesut Ozil was better than Bruno Fernandes
Theo Walcott thinks Martin Odegaard is a better captain than Fernandes, with the Man United playmaker being a talking point with regard to Arsenal this season.
Elsewhere, Rio Ferdinand reckons Arsenal would be better with Fernandes, but Bent believes the Gunners actually had a player who was ahead of the midfielder.
Discussing Fernandes on talkSPORT with Andy Goldstein, Bent read out a list of Premier League midfielders he believes are better than Fernandes, one of whom is Mesut Ozil.
Ozil’s ability made him a favourite at Arsenal with his teammates, contributing to 121 goals over his eight-year stay in North London, scoring 44 and assisting 77 times before leaving for free as he fell out of favour with Arteta.
The German was one of four former Gunners on Bent’s list, the others were unsurprisingly Patrick Vieira, Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Petit.
Siding with Fernandes in the debate, Goldstein could understand why Vieira, Fabregas and even Petit made the cut, but didn’t want to hear the opinion that Ozil was better than the Man United superstar.
Mesut Ozil branded one of the most overrated Premier League players
In reaction to Bent’s ranking, Goldstein took the opportunity to share his view on Ozil, whom he branded overrated, to say the least.
Give us one sentence to decide: Mesut Ozil, overrated or underrated?
“I’m not having Ozil, one of the most overrated players in the Premier League,” Goldstein said.
“He was unbelievable for Real Madrid because every time he got the ball, he gave it to Ronaldo, and he scored.”
It’s a different take from former players, who think Ozil was actually underrated, but Goldstein wasn’t having any of it.
“Ozil, we should do a show on the most overrated players in the Premier League; he’s on that list,” he added.
It was a playful discussion, but where do you stand? Was Ozil overrated or underrated during his time at Arsenal?
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
