A round-up of the latest Arsenal news as Brentford striker Ivan Toney sets his salary demands and a Mikel Arteta target is told to reject a transfer to Manchester United.
Ivan Toney issues Arsenal his wage demands to leave Brentford
Brentford striker Toney will want a wage in excess of £200k-a-week to leave in January amid transfer interest from Arsenal. According to talkSPORT, the attacker – who has also attracted attention from Chelsea – is looking for a huge pay rise to agree to drop the Bees mid-season.
Toney only currently earns a reported £36k-a-week at the Gtech Community Stadium with a deal agreed to in September 2020. He signed a five-year contract to land a £5m, rising up to £10m, transfer from Peterborough. But the striker is now a Premier League and England ace.
His first season at Brentford helped Thomas Frank – who calls Toney ‘remarkable’ – get them out of the Championship. Toney has since scored 32 and assisted nine goals in 66 Premier League games. He struck 20 goals in 33 games last term to pique Arsenal’s transfer interest.
Reports by the Mirror have long named Brentford talisman Toney as Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta’s top striker transfer target. He feels the 27-year-old could add another dimension to his attack as an out-and-out centre-forward. But the Bees are seeking a £60m asking price.
Read more about Arsenal transfer target Toney’s stance on leaving Brentford, here.
Arsenal target Michael Olise is urged to reject Manchester United
Stuart Pearce has urged Arsenal target Michael Olise of Crystal Palace to reject any transfer to Manchester United. The England cult hero firmly feels the forward has the talent to play for Manchester City. Olise has blown Pearce away with his performances so far this season.
Reports by Football Transfers have credited Arsenal and Manchester United with an interest in Olise’s transfer from Crystal Palace. The two rivals are monitoring his displays in view of a summer move. He can leave Selhurst Park for £60m through a release clause in his contract.
The clause becomes active at the end of this season, and Olise would favour Arsenal over a transfer to Manchester United. Gunners boss Arteta is also a long-term admirer of the U21 France forward, who has five goals and an assist in nine Premier League games this season.
Olise offered one of his goals away to Chelsea in December to equalise before Crystal Palace fell to a 2-1 defeat. His display at Stamford Bridge astounded Pearce, though. So much so, in fact, that the England cult hero believes Olise should reject Manchester United for Man City.
Pearce told talkSPORT: “I’ve watched him a couple of times recently and the answer is ‘Yes’. Not Man United [but] Man City. I looked at the way he played against Chelsea, especially.
“He got beaten on the night but he was by far the best player on the pitch, in my opinion. The way he dealt with the ball, his understanding of when to keep the ball [and] all of those type of things. I could see him in a City shirt.”
Read more about what Pearce has had to say about Arsenal transfer target Olise, here.
Arsenal identify a key fixture for Jurrien Timber’s return from injury
Arsenal have identified their Champions League last 16 second-leg meeting with FC Porto as the earliest that Jurrien Timber may return from his ACL injury. Arteta has been without the 22-year-old since he suffered the injury 50 minutes into his Premier League debut in August.
Timber went to the ground unchallenged at home to Nottingham Forest and would undergo surgery for the injury. Initial fears even suggested that his season may have been over there and then. But football.london now reports a return in mid-March is their best-case scenario.
The Dutchman is not currently close to a full return to training despite going to Dubai during Arsenal’s winter break. But the progress Timber is showing in training is fuelling optimism in north London that he may return in March, with the visit of Porto to the Emirates an option.
Read more about Arsenal’s expectations for Timber’s return from his ACL injury, here.
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