Arsenal hero Martin Keown has now raised a concern about Ivan Toney moving to the Gunners with Mikel Arteta keen to get the striker’s transfer from Brentford in January.

The Emirates Stadium natives are monitoring the market for potential attacking options with Arteta targeting the Premier League title. Toney is one striker to catch Arsenal’s interest for a mid-season move. He is also open to leaving the Bees as soon as he can return to the game.

Reports by the Daily Mail suggest that Toney would appreciate the transfer to Arsenal just as much as Arteta wants his signature. Both parties covet the potential move highly. Arteta and the Gunners hierarchy are intent on adding another name to their attack in the winter sales.

Keown has a concern about Arsenal signing Toney

Brentford may demand as much as £80m to sell Toney, though, which will limit what budget Arsenal have next summer. Arteta has identified the 27-year-old as a primary target in north London as the Spaniard admires his character and physicality. He also loves the likely goals.

Discussions are ongoing at Emirates Stadium over whether Arsenal require a 25-30 goal-a-season centre-forward beside Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah. But it is the shift in style with an out-and-out striker like Toney that has Keown questioning if he is the right fit for Arsenal.

“Toney is a prolific goalscorer. I don’t think I’ve seen a penalty taker better than him, he’s that good,” Keown has told talkSPORT. “They’re looking, at Brentford, can they deal without him? They’ve looked ok without him.

“But they’re probably realising that there’s going to be a huge offer coming in for him. And, I think, Arsenal will probably be top of the list for that. But, for me, it’s about the structure of the team, whether they’re ready for that and whether they can cope.

“He’s going to be an out-and-out striker. He’s not going to be popping back to help out in the same way that Jesus does… But I do think they could do with a third striker.”

Toney would offer Arteta a very different centre-forward

Toney cannot play with Brentford until January whilst he serves his suspension for breaching the FA’s betting rules. But the forward has proven at the Gtech Community Stadium the sort of striker he is. The Northampton native has hit 32 goals in 66 Premier League fixtures there.

He has laid on a further nine assists and scored 20 of that tally during 2022/23 alone. Of his haul last term, six were penalties – just Erling Haaland scored more at Manchester City with seven. A further seven of Toney’s goals came at set-pieces, with just six in open play moves.

Only Harry Kane scored more goals from set-pieces last season than Toney did with eight for Tottenham Hotspur. Gabriel Magalhaes was Arsenal’s top scorer from set-pieces in 22/23 on three goals. Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard were also the top overall scorers with 15.

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