Arsenal will be Man City’s main title challengers this season | Football Digest
Arsenal could be helped by Real Madrid in their January pursuit of Brentford star Ivan Toney. Reports in Spain claim that Los Blancos have ‘not forgotten’ their interest in Gunners star Gabriel Jesus, who might make way for Toney this winter.
Toney is supposedly a major target for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta. The North Londoners have seen their strikers struggle for goals over the last 18 months, hindering their Premier League title challenge last term.
Inconsistency and injuries have plagued Jesus and fellow forward Eddie Nketiah. The latter scored just four Premier League goals last season and Arsenal are in need of an upgrade.
The Gunners have been widely linked with Toney but must be financially prudent given their major spending over the last few years. Any more expenditure could see the Emirates Stadium outfit fall foul of Financial Fair Play rules.
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It could mean that Arsenal must sell players before they complete the signings of any more major arrivals. They could be helped by Madrid if the Spanish giants follow up their interest in Brazilian star Jesus.
According to Spanish publication Sport, the La Liga outfit are ‘closely following’ the former Manchester City player ahead of a possible £45million transfer. Arsenal might then choose to reinvest that money into a deal for Toney.
Premier League clubs will battle to sign Toney in the January transfer window. The 27-year-old’s ban from competitive football expires on January 16, eight months on from being found to have breached the Football Association’s gambling rules on 232 occasions.
Arsenal are likely to be in competition with Chelsea and several other top-flight rivals for Toney’s signature. Removing Jesus from their squad would allow Arteta’s side to acquire the former Newcastle man.
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Arteta has previously said that he is not interested in signing a new striker in January. Asked in September about the prospect of that scenario, the Spaniard responded: “We’re not thinking at all about that.
“We have really good players up front. It’s true that right now we have some injuries. We will continue with the players we have.”
Brentford boss Thomas Frank recently revealed to Sky Sports that Brentford’s players tend to be available at the right price. Asked if that applied to Toney, he responded: “Yeah, I think so. I understand why there are a lot of rumours out there about him.
“For me he’s one of the best strikers, as a striker No.9, I don’t see many out there who is better in the world than him, of course you have [Harry] Kane, [Robert] Lewandowski, [Erling] Haaland and these types, but not many.”
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