'Lukaku would get more goals than Jesus' – Arsenal told to sign Chelsea flop

Tom Hancock

• 1 Jun 2023 11:34 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea outcast Romelu Lukaku would outscore Gabriel Jesus at Arsenal, according to former England striker Darren Bent.

Lukaku could yet end this season as a Champions League winner with Inter Milan – who take on Manchester City in next Saturday’s final – but his Chelsea future would appear to remain up in the air.

The Belgian star, 30, returned to Inter on loan after a thoroughly underwhelming first campaign back with the Blues – in which he scored only 15 goals in 44 appearances.

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But Bent has backed Lukaku to rekindle his Premier League career by joining Chelsea’s London rivals. The ex-Tottenham and Sunderland man told talkSPORT: “What Gabriel Jesus did at Arsenal [this season] was brilliant, but there were times he would frustrate me because he wasn't in the box enough.

“There were times the ball would flash across the box and no one was in there – he's on the edge of the box – but Lukaku, I know he's in there.

“I'd start Gabriel Jesus on the left potentially. Maybe, one or the other. It's a squad game. But I would start Lukaku down the middle over Gabriel Jesus.”

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Is Lukaku good value?

Despite struggling badly during his second spell at Stamford Bridge, Lukaku would likely still set Arsenal back a fairly hefty amount.

The former Manchester United and Everton man – who is Belgium’s all-time leading goalscorer – re-joined Chelsea for a whopping €115m (£98m) and still has three years left to run on his Blues contract.

That said, our in-house Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) currently rates Lukaku at €45.3m (£38.9m) – which might end up representing good value for Mikel Arteta’s Gunners were he to recapture his best form.