Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta have held a meeting with Brentford striker Ivan Toney before the Euros 2024 to explore possibilities to bring him to the Emirates Stadium, however, the conversations has labelled as a ‘complete disaster’, by Paul O’Keefe.
The 28-year-old ace has been a target for the Gunners since January and with his contract with the Bees ending next year, they are ready to welcome offers for their prized asset this summer.
ARTETA SNUBS IVAN TONEY AFTER DISASTROUS MEETING
What came as a surprise to many was when Thomas Frank decided to leave Toney out of the squad that defeated Crystal Palace in the opening Premier League weekend. This gives a massive hint that his move away from Brentford could conclude soon.
Multiple PL clubs have expressed interest in his signatures, including Tottenh*m Hotsp*r. The wrong side of North London expressed interest in signing the EURO 2024 star as well, however, they pivoted into a move for Dominik Solanke. While, they haven’t ruled themselves out of a possible move and so has Arsenal until the next big thing happened.
The Gunners were also targeting the forward and made sure that they tried to fix things via a meeting between the manager and the player as the Spaniard incharge at London Colney was fond of having a proven Premier League striker who has the capacity to fill the void left by an injury-prone Gabriel Jesus.
But it has been revealed that Arteta was left unimpressed by the player’s attitude and hence, no further initiative was taken. The meeting was deemed as a ‘complete car crash’ and ‘a disaster’.
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He met Arteta. Was a car crash
— Paul O Keefe (@pokeefe1) August 18, 2024
The awkward nature of the conversation might mess up any chance of securing a deal for Toney, who is available for a fee of around £30 million which is a bargain price for a player of his calibre.
The striker’s agent wanted his client to move to Arsenal; as revealed by former PL manager Alan Pardew, the agent tried to establish contact between clubs. While sharing his insights with talkSPORT, he said:
“Let me tell you. I know Toney’s agent personally, and I think he would like the boy to go to Arsenal. There you go. There’s a bit of insight. I know that he thought that might be a good fit for the boy when I had a discussion.”
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ARTETA GO SOFT AS THEY REMAIN HAPPY WITH THEIR CURRENT OPTIONS
However, we are skeptical about this move since Arteta will be careful not to sign a player who can disrupt the dressing room. The Brentford star is a red flag and we expect Arsenal to go cold on this transfer rumour.
The North London side would be happy with their current attacking options at Sobha Realty Training Centre.
With Eddie Nketiah close to leaving the Emirates, Jesus and Kai Havertz will be sharing the duties upfront.
Havertz had an amazing Euros 2024 campaign with Germany and he also scored 13 goals for the Gunners in the last campaign. He can now break his personal best this season and establish himself as a number nine. The former Bayer Leverkusen star’s link-up play with the wingers is exceptional. Although he started a bit slow to life wearing the Cannon badge, the goals didn’t stop coming once he adjusted himself to his new role.
Jesus will be utilised as an additional option and he will be motivated to stay injury free. Arsenal need to invest in a versatile winger that could provide competition to Bukayo Saka.
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With Real Sociedad star Mikel Merino coming in, they will be able to fix their midfield concerns. But the right-wing position needs attention since they need to rest Saka in see-off games.
Top players like Leroy Sane and Simon Adingra are linked with Arteta’s side and it remains to be seen whether they can find a perfect competitor to their academy graduate.
