Darren Bent back with a bang

Nov 23 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

DARREN Bent was thrilled to be back in goalscoring form in the 1-0 win over Arsenal as he took a swipe at the critics who have mocked him since his ineffectual return to the England side against Brazil.

Bent, who has scored nine goals in 13 appearances this season, has been a delight to watch at Sunderland and has never appeared to be too fragile in confidence, but it seems his England return may have been in danger of doing him more harm than good.

His Black Cats boss Steve Bruce admitted his £10m signing from Tottenham Hotspur had been feeling a little down in the build up to the 1-0 win over Arsenal. Bent was annoyed by the reaction to his display against the Brazilians, with some critics who have not watched him play for his club ridiculing his claim to be considered as a World Cup hopeful.

He said: “The England critics have done what they always do, but I won’t let that affect me. It was great to play for my country and my desire to go to the World Cup won’t go away after one bad England result. I feel the last two years have made me mentally strong.

“If I’d had criticism before I was at Spurs I probably would have crumbled. But whatever people write about me, so be it. They can’t take away my Sunderland goals or Sunderland form, I know the way to success with England is to be a success with Sunderland.

“The Brazil game was tough – you expect that against high calibre opposition. If a striker does not get the service then it’s hard for him to score, but fortunately I know at Sunderland I am getting that service and so I am confident I will continue getting goals.”

Bent’s match-winning display against Arsenal also drew lavish praise from Bolo Zenden who argued it would be foolish for England to discard him after just one 52-minute run-out against Brazil. Zenden has played with some of the world’s best strikers and he has been hugely impressed with the way Bent does not only score goals, but also sacrifices himself to work for the team.

He said: “He is a great striker. He has great potential, scores a lot of goals. He creates chances for the team, but if you create them for him he will score them for the team. He has pace, strength and he is a complete striker.

“Everyone is really pleased we have him in the team. I’d rather have him with me than against me.

“It’s a mark of his confidence that he missed a penalty at Tottenham, had a tough time against Brazil but he comes back against Arsenal and scores a goal.

“He is a good guy as well, you some-times get lazy strikers who want to score tap-ins, but he always works hard fort the team. He is vital for us, as long as he keeps doing what he is doing.”

It was not all good news for Bruce who will hope a scan this week does not show any major damage after Bent limped off after the final whistle with a muscle problem in the back of his leg. Bruce said: “That is a major concern. We do not know what he has done exactly, was it cramp or the hamstring, has he nicked it or pulled it? I had no choice or I would have taken him off.

“The one thing you cannot mess with is a muscle injury.”

And the boss added: “It is a good thing we had him for a week after England, that helped because he was a bit down, yes, of course he was.”