Arsenal have been urged to sign Ivan Toney from Brentford to bolster their attacking department. The North London side’s former youngster Jay Bothroyd believes the England international would be a great addition for the Gunners.
However, making a move for the striker will not be easy. The 27-year-old was the Bees’ talisman last season. As per The Times, they value him at £80 million so Arsenal would need to dig deep.
But speaking on Sky Sports’ Saturday Social (h/t football.london), Bothroyd would like to see Toney in an Arsenal shirt. The ex-Cardiff City forward is confident that the Brentford star would thrive at the Emirates Stadium.
“[Toney’s] an A for me, he scores goals, he’s prolific, he’s strong, he leads the line really well. If you put him in one of the top teams he will score at least 20 Premier League goals per season.
“Great on penalties, penalties he’s unbelievable. If you took him to someone like Arsenal, I would love Arsenal to sign him now. I think he would score more goals than Jesus, than Ollie Watkins, in the Premier League.”
Toney made his way to Brentford in the summer of 2020 from Peterborough United. He helped the Bees gain promotion to the Premier League and has developed into a vital player for the club.
In the previous campaign, Toney took his game to the next level. The forward caught a lot of people’s attention with his goalscoring prowess. He found the back of the net 20 times in 33 Premier League matches.
However, at the moment, Toney is suspended until January after being banned for flouting gambling rules. Therefore, while the striker was brilliant last season, it is understandable that no team made an approach for him this summer.
Arsenal lack a prolific number nine
At Arsenal, Gabriel Jesus was signed last summer from Manchester City. The Brazilian’s debut campaign at the Gunners was a fruitful one. Unfortunately, injuries have hampered the 26-year-old’s time at the Emirates Stadium.
However, Jesus has never really been a prolific striker. The Brazil international’s best season came in the 2019/20 term, where he scored 14 Premier League goals.
Mikel Arteta has had to rely on Leandro Trossard and Eddie Nketiah at the start of the new campaign. Jesus has been on the sidelines for the most part after aggravating a knee injury in pre-season.
Whether the North London side decide to pursue Toney remains to be seen. Arteta has been tipped to bring in another forward to help ease the burden on the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Jesus, and Toney has been linked with a move in the past.
Arsenal pushed Manchester City all the way for the league title last season. But the presence of a goalscorer like Erling Haaland in Pep Guardiola’s team arguably gave them an edge over the Gunners.
If Arteta wants to sign a prolific hitman to give them a better chance of beating City, Arsenal could do a lot worse than turn to Toney….
