Ivan Toney had a message for Mikel Arteta after what he saw Arsenal do to Bournemouth

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Ivan Toney may not be a Premier League player anymore, but the striker remains close to the action.

Mikel Arteta turned down the chance to sign Toney, who left Brentford in the summer of 2024 to sign for Al-Ahli.

Looking back, the Englishman might envy the team that Arsenal’s strikers currently get to play in, as the Gunners have impressed going forward in recent fixtures.

After beating Aston Villa, Arsenal secured three points away to Bournemouth, but it wasn’t the strikers who earned the headlines, as the goals came from another source.

Ivan Toney reacted to Declan Rice’s brace for Arsenal against Bournemouth

Gabriel Magalhaes proved why he’s one of the world’s best, as after an early mistake to gift Bournemouth a goal, the Brazilian scored himself.

After the centre-back’s strike, Declan Rice scored twice, with the win earned by the goal threat in Arsenal’s defence and midfield.

Toney reacted to the Gunners’ win at full-time, taking to social media to send a message to Rice after his brace.

“Get him up front,” Toney commented on Rice’s Instagram, sending a subtle message to the Arsenal manager to rethink the 26-year-old’s position. 

It’s not the first time that Arteta has been told he has potential strikers in other areas, as it was only last week that Mikel Merino joked that Martin Zubimendi could be a striker.

Toney loved what he saw from his friend and international teammate, Rice, who was at the top of his game against Bournemouth.

Bournemouth hate to see Rice coming

After following Arsenal’s win, Toney saw Rice’s qualities as a striker, and in the future, it could be a hack for Arteta to unleash his midfielder in the position against the Cherries.

There’s no team that Rice has scored more goals against in his career than Bournemouth, scoring three times and assisting twice in 11 appearances.

What’s even more impressive is that despite his impressive record in the final third, Arteta thinks Rice can improve so much more, giving an insight into his remarkably high ceiling.

Arsenal are relishing the decision to sign Rice for £105m in 2023, as the Englishman continues to contribute in areas that very few expected when he first arrived.