Arsenal suffered a third consecutive defeat on Sunday as they crashed out of the FA Cup at the third-round stage at the hands of Premier League rivals Liverpool. The Gunners have scored just one goal in that sequence of losses and failed to find the net against the Reds despite firing off 18 shots and creating four big chances (SofaScore). An own goal from Jakub Kiwior and a strike from Luis Diaz punished them at the other end late on.
Arsenal are fourth in the Premier League table but only three teams in the top half – West Ham (33), Manchester United (22) and Chelsea (34) – have scored fewer goals than their 37. They’re currently averaging 1.85 goals per game, putting them on course for around 70 at the end of the season, a reduction of 18 from last year.
Even though we’ve now passed the halfway point of the campaign, no Arsenal player has reached double figures in all competitions, with Bukayo Saka leading the way on nine, and primary centre-forward Gabriel Jesus level with Martin Odegaard on seven (BBC Sport). It’s no surprise, then, that Mikel Arteta is considering entering the market for a new striker, with Ivan Toney emerging as a possible target.
Toney the no. 1 option for Arsenal
Writing immediately after Arsenal’s elimination from the FA Cup, ESPN’s James Olley reported that the Gunners are under “increasing pressure” to bring in a new number nine this month. Toney is Arteta’s top target, but the price tag is presenting a problem.
Brentford are reluctant to sell Toney midway through the season and have thus placed an £80m valuation on his head in the hope of warding off interest. As such, it looks unlikely that Arsenal will be landing their primary candidate this month, with such an outlay impossible while abiding by Financial Fair Play regulations.
Toney gamble not worthwhile
This may not be the worst news for Arsenal, because a move for Toney could be slightly problematic. Yes, he was prolific last season – only Erling Haaland (36) and Harry Kane (30) scored more goals in the Premier League – but signing him would be a gamble.
He’s due to return for an eight-month ban for breaching gambling rules when Brentford take on Nottingham Forest later this month (Sky Sports), and Arsenal simply don’t know what kind of shape he’ll be in. For the kind of money being talked about, the Gunners would expect an immediate impact, and Toney may not be able to provide that in the midst of a title race.
Related
All confirmed Premier League done deals: January transfer window 2024
With the January transfer window now upon us, FFC has all the info for tracking your club’s winter transfer activity.
Last year, we saw Arsenal priced out of two targets in January, with Brighton rejecting multiple bids for Moises Caicedo, the last of which was worth £70m (Football London), and Chelsea tabling a better £86m offer for Shakhtar’s Mykhailo Mudryk (The Athletic).
Arsenal responded by signing Jorginho from their London rivals and Leandro Trossard from the Seagulls for a fraction of the price – a combined £30.5m (Transfermarkt). Perhaps this year we’ll see a repeat, where Arteta moves away from the prohibitively expensive Toney to an alternative who offers much better value for money both in the short and long-term.
