Arteta urged to forget Ivan Toney for ‘much better’ Arsenal target who ‘fits the mould’

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Tom Canton has now urged Mikel Arteta to forget about signing Ivan Toney and focus on landing one other Arsenal target instead.

Arsenal have been linked with both Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins.

Arsenal sporting director Edu has recently admitted that he understands the clamour for the club to sign a new striker. 

For all of his quality, Gabriel Jesus simply is not prolific enough to fire the Gunners to the top prizes in the game. Equally, whilst he has shown that he can lead the line effectively, Kai Havertz has been called out for his own unreliable finishing. 

Arsenal have been linked with a host of strikers who could represent an upgrade on Jesus. One of the names that has come up most often in speculation is Toney. The Brentford striker is very likely to be on the move this summer, and is thought to be open to a switch to the Emirates Stadium.

However, the Bees are expected to demand a fee of around £100 million in exchange for Toney’s signature. 

Meanwhile, there have also been rumours of Mikel Arteta holding an interest in Watkins. The Aston Villa man has been in sensational form this season. In 36 appearances across all competitions, the 28-year-old has racked up 19 goals and 12 assists. 

Should Arsenal try to sign Ivan Toney or Ollie Watkins this summer?

The Gooner Talk podcast host Tom Canton has now expressed his desire to see the Gunners prioritise a move for Watkins over Toney. He said, “Watkins, I said last year when the whole Toney thing was coming up, I said then that Watkins is better than Toney. If you want one of those two, you want Watkins.” 

“Watkins is the better player, and I think used to think they were in the same kind of bracket. I think this season, because it’s another season of Watkins being just that much better…Watkins is in a higher bracket of strikers for me…all day long, it’s not even a debate, it’s just not. It’s just not a debate…I think he fits the mould of an Arsenal striker.”

Neither player would come cheap, but if Arsenal were willing to funnel a hefty chunk of their resources into the effort then it is likely that they could strike a deal for either player this summer. There are question marks over both strikers, though. The move to Arsenal would represent a significant step up for both of them.

What’s more, there are other areas of Arteta’s squad which will be in pressing need of attention this summer. It may not be viable for the Gunners to expend such a vast proportion of their budget on either Toney or Watkins.

It will be fascinating to see what approach Arteta and Edu take to bolstering their strikeforce this summer. It could be that in Jesus, Havertz, Eddie Nketiah, and Leandro Trossard that they feel they already are well-stocked enough in that department.