'Prime Welbeck was better than Rashford' - Wilshere and Bent spark heated debate

Andy Goldstein and Darren Bent were joined by former Arsenal star Jack Wilshere when conversation turned to a hypothetical comparison of Marcus Rashford and Danny Welbeck - and it got very heated, very quickly.

Rashford has emerged as a shock transfer target for the Gunners, leading to a conversation about how he compared with Welbeck who made the move from Manchester to London back in 2014.

Both Rashford and Welbeck are quality players in their own right, but who are our Drivetime team backing as the better of the two?

Grab your popcorn and get stuck into what turned out to be a rather heated debate between our talkSPORT trio.

Goldstein [To Wilshere]: "We're talking about the strikers Arsenal need. We've had Gabriel Jesus linked to your club, Marcus Rashford also bizarrely linked, but I can't see that happening."

Wilshere: "Why is that bizarre? Welbeck did it."

Goldstein: "Yeah, he did, but Rashford is much better than Welbeck."

Wilshere: "What? What, he's much better than Danny Welbeck was?"

Goldstein: "110 per cent."

Wilshere: "You're talking about Danny Welbeck that got in the Man United team when there was Tevez, Ronaldo and Rooney?"

Goldstein: "He was never a starter for Man United, was he?"

Wilshere: "Yes he was, I watched something the other day and it was the Carling Cup final and he played in it."

Goldstein: "Yeah, but realistically he wasn't."

Wilshere: "He played. He played games."

Goldstein: "I know he did, but you're telling me that Danny Welbeck is a better player than Marcus Rashford? I don't see that in a million years."

Bent: "Rashford never had to deal with what Welbeck had to deal with."

Goldstein: "That's one of the most nuts things I've ever heard. Marcus Rashford, if things start going his way at Man United, you could look at him being a starter for Man United. Not necessarily at centre-forward, I think he'll play out wide in a three, but he'll definitely start for Man United if he's playing well. Danny Welbeck was never that good. Welbeck was never a player where when England had a new squad coming out you were like, he'll definitely be in that squad."

Bent: "There was a period where Welbeck was England's main man."

Goldstein: "Danny Welbeck was never England's main man!"

Bent: "There was a period though. He kept scoring."

Goldstein: "At the moment, Harry Kane is England's main man. You're telling me that there was a time when Danny Welbeck was that player?"

Bent: "Maybe not to the level of Harry Kane, but he was getting picked in every squad and scoring."

Goldstein: "He was never England's first-choice as a striker."

Wilshere: "How many goals did he score for England? How many do you think?"

Goldstein: "You've got the answer in front of you, obviously. 16?"

Bent: "In how many games?"

Wilshere: "In 42."

Bent: "He had a period where he wasn't scoring at club level but he was scoring for England every time."

Goldstein: "He was never England's main man. That's an obscene thing to say. I know he played but Harry Kane is England's main man. Alan Shearer was England's main man, right? The list goes on. Welbeck was never that player. When Man United let Welbeck go to Arsenal they was never a reaction of 'oh my goodness, what are we doing?'"

Wilshere: "There was. Yes, there was because I remember that. Gary Neville was going mad."

Goldstein: "He's not in the same class as him. Honestly, he's not. You're both Arsenal fans, here's my question. Who do you think, in their pomp, is better, Welbeck or Rashford?"

Bent: "If Welbeck didn't have the injuries? I'd have Welbeck centre-forward."

Wilshere: "Welbeck, but here's a question for you. If Rashford came through at the same time as Welbeck, would he have played in that team with Tevez, Ronaldo, Berbatov, I forgot him, and Rooney?"

Goldstein: "Honestly, it's one of the most bizarre things I've ever heard either of you say."

Bent: "To be fair, you've always liked Rashford, but at one stage you said that he could be one of the best young players on the planet."

Wilshere: "Here's a question. How many goals has Rashford got for England and in how many games?"

Goldstein: "Have you got that in front of you, too? It's obviously less than Rashford. I reckon he's scored nine goals for England."

Wilshere: "12 in 46. Which is less."

Goldstein: "I know it is. I can't believe you're putting this argument forward. You're the only two people who think like that."

Bent: "I think you're undervaluing Welbeck."

Wilshere: "You are. You're jumping on all of the trolls on Twitter saying about Welbeck and all that. You're one of them."

Goldstein: "Hold on, let me make something clear. I'm not saying Welbeck's not a good player, I haven't said that once. I'm saying that if you put the two side-by-side, for me, every single day it's Marcus Rashford."

So, what about you? Team Welbz or Team Rashy?