Former England striker, Darren Bent on Wednesday urged Arsenal to sack Mikel Arteta and replace him immediately with former Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte.

The Gunners who finished outside of the top six last season, suffered a dismal Europa League exit at the hands of Emery’s Villarreal and have started the new season with a 2-0 loss to Premier League new boys, Brentford.

A disgruntled Bent told talkSPORT that it is ‘tough’ to watch the London club’s elite club status go into demise, urging the club to sack the Spaniard if they have the chance to appoint Conte.

Conte won Premier League and FA Cup trophies during his spell at Chelsea and guided Inter Milan to the Serie A title last season

“It’s tough to watch,” said Bent when asked about the situation at Arsenal.

“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.”