Darren Bent thinks Wilfried Zaha handed in his transfer request because he wanted to join Arsenal, rather than any of the other interested suitors.

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 12: Wilfried Zaha of Crystal Palace during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and AFC Bournemouth at Selhurst Park on May 12, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 12: Wilfried Zaha of Crystal Palace during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and AFC Bournemouth at Selhurst Park on May 12, 2019, in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images)

Zaha was most heavily linked with Arsenal in the early part of the summer transfer window, but towards the end, it was Everton dominating the headlines around the Crystal Palace winger.

By the time Zaha handed in a transfer request, it wasn’t exactly clear where he was trying to force a move to. Darren Bent is pretty sure Arsenal were the club he really wanted though.

“He handed a transfer request in now, whether that’s a transfer request in because he wanted to go to Arsenal – he’s an Arsenal fan – so I’m pretty sure that he handed the request in wanting to go to Arsenal,” Bent said.

“With Arsenal only putting up £40million, he was never, ever going to get to leave for that price. Arsenal’s the team he supports, it’s in London, probably wouldn’t have to move house – all these things come into play.

“What happens at the end of the season or even in January, I do not know.”

darren bent
Derby, ENGLAND- FEBRUARY 21: Darren Bent with Derby County during the Sky Bet Championship match against Burton Albion at the iPro Stadium on February 21, 2017, in Derby, England (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

Clearly, £40m wasn’t going to convince Palace to sell, given reports that they valued Zaha closer to £80m or even £100m. The problem is that the player doesn’t really have that kind of value to Arsenal.

The winger would certainly be a good addition to the club’s options at left-wing, particularly after the departures of Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan this summer. The Ivorian is yet to score or assist in six appearances this season though, and £100m is the kind of money clubs spend on Cristiano Ronaldo.

If Palace were willing to lower their demands to find a solution that worked for everybody, maybe Arsenal really will go back in January or at the end of the season. It’s a big ‘if’ right now.