With Arsenal once more in the race for the Premier League title, one potential signing in the January transfer window could give them the boost they need to accomplish the incredible!
Ivan Toney has been linked with a move to both the Gunners and their London rivals Chelsea, and with Brentford's technical director Lee Dykes admitting that "maybe the time comes very shortly that Ivan moves on to another club", Arsenal could just find the catalyst that could help them recapture their attacking fluidity.
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The striker has been out of action for a substantial period of time after picking up an eight-month ban for breaching betting rules. His last competitive appearance came in a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool in May this year, but the 27-year-old is set to make his much-anticipated return to top-flight football next month, and has been tipped by Dykes to come back "better than ever".
"Yes, there will be lots of interest in Ivan in January. Naturally, there should be. He was the third-highest Premier League goal scorer last season – one of them [Harry Kane] has gone to Germany now, so he's up there as one of the best strikers in the division. He is in the top five in the world, in my opinion," the director told the club's media, per GOAL.
Dykes, however, warned that it would cost interested clubs a pretty penny to acquire the English forward's services.
"So there should be interest, and maybe the time comes very shortly that Ivan moves on to another club. But they will have to pay a decent transfer fee to acquire his services because he is some talent. There's a real ambition from [Ivan] and I can see in his eyes that he's going to be better than he's ever been; I really believe that will be the case," he added.
Just 20 of Arsenal's 35 goals in the league this season have come from open play, with nine coming from set-pieces (eight of them being from corners), and six penalties, according to Understat. In addition to that, the Gunners' top scorers are Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka, who are both tied on five goals. Toney, meanwhile, managed to net 20 times and assisted on four occasions in 33 matches as he helped the Bees to a ninth-place finish in the EPL last season.
In addition to that, his expected goals (xG) tally was recorded to be 15.42 during the 2022/23 campaign, and considering that Arsenal are currently underperforming their xG of 24.87, the pair could be a match made in heaven. While the argument that the side already has a good striker in Gabriel Jesus, Toney offers a different element that could potentially enhance the team's overall ability in attack.
Not only would the purchase of the England forward bring with it someone who is competent in aerial duels, an aspect of the game that Jesus may not be as good at, it also grants them a player with a natural eye for goal, a poacher's instinct that sees him occupy the right spaces at the right times. Not to mention, Toney has the physical prowess to hold the ball up while waiting for the players around him to bring them into an attack. Under the guidance of Mikel Arteta, the sky would be the limit for the 27-year-old.
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Someone who is able to sniff out potential opportunities could be the perfect fit for the Spanish tactician's seemingly new, more rugged approach to football matches that would inevitably cause more loose balls to drop in the opponents' box, especially during set pieces.
Opinion by Junaid Benjamin
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