In a recent tweet, renowned journalist Rudy Galetti claimed that Arsenal are working on recruiting Brentford centre-forward Ivan Toney. It has been mentioned that the Gunners are eyeing a move to bring the English striker to the Emirates Stadium next year.
🚨‼️ Victor #Osimhen remains a top target for #Chelsea, no changes: the 🇳🇬 ST is highly appreciated by #CFC.
🔍 Ivan #Toney is also among the names on the list of the 🔵, but now #Arsenal are taking the first steps for him. #ManUTD are monitoring his situation as well. 🐓⚽ pic.twitter.com/Em54CPnrHx
— Rudy Galetti (@RudyGaletti) December 16, 2023
Toney’s Impressive Record In The Premier League Last Season
Toney proved himself to be a capable goal-getter in the Premier League last season when he put in several productive displays as the focal point of Brentford’s attack. The 27-year-old is currently suspended through sports court- cross-competition until January 17, 2024.
The English forward banged in 21 goals and secured five assists in 35 matches for his current employers in the previous campaign in all competitions. Toney led the line well by averaging 2.8 shots, 0.8 key passes and 0.5 dribbles per game in the Premier League. However, he lacked quality when distributing the ball in the opponent’s half based on his pass success rate of 62% in the English top flight (stats via whoscored).
What Will Toney Add To Arsenal Boss Mikel Arteta’s Team?
Toney excels at finding some space for himself to get a few strikes in on-target. He can be a good finisher in front of the opponent’s goal and has got the vision to engineer a few promising chances for his teammates on the offensive end of the field. However, the English striker needs to work on improving his passing accuracy in the opposition half. He knows the Premier League well by now and won’t take much time to settle into life at Arsenal if Mikel Arteta can devise a way to get him on board in 2024.
We can expect Toney to add more firepower to Arteta’s frontline and help the North London club challenge across all fronts over the next few years. At 27, he is about to enter his prime and is well-equipped to offer some healthy competition for Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah at the Emirates Stadium.
However, Toney might struggle to adapt to Arteta’s playing style as he tends to give away possession cheaply when he is not playing with confidence on the field. Still, the pros outweigh the cons of signing someone of his quality, so Arsenal should step up their pursuit to sign the Brentford forward this January.
