To increase their chances of winning the Premier League, Gary Lineker has encouraged Arsenal to sign Ivan Toney, a striker on the verge of leaving Brentford.
With goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka, Mikel Arteta’s team, runners-up the previous two seasons, defeated Wolves 2-0 to open the new campaign with a strong showing.
Despite being connected to many attackers, Arteta hinted that Arsenal would not be adding a new striker before the transfer window closed in remarks made following the first victory.
Nevertheless, Lineker, Micah Richards, and Alan Shearer—coworkers on the The Rest is Football podcast—think that this would be a mistake and have pushed Arsenal to acquire Toney.
Toney, who featured for England at Euro 2024, was left out of Brentford’s Premier League opener against Crystal Palace on Sunday as he is in talks to leave the club.
Sides in Saudi Arabia are ready to offer Toney a lucrative deal but Lineker, Richards and Shearer believe Arsenal should make a move to aid Arteta’s title tilt.
‘You know who I would go and buy? Ivan Toney,’ Richards said. ‘He was left out obviously and there’s talk about him going to Saudi.
‘He might not be ideal for Arsenal’s style, how they want to press and play, but he’s a different option from off the bench.
‘He would give them something different, a different dimension. Especially looking at the numbers, he’s got a year left on his contract and there was talk about him going for only £15m.
‘For a player who was valued at £70m a couple of seasons ago. In terms of what he can offer, I think he would be a good fit.’
Responding to Richards’ suggestion, Match of the Day host Lineker said: ‘I like Ivan Toney a lot.
‘I think he’s super talented and gives you a completely different from what else they’ve got.
‘He’s a real threat and technically a really good footballer so I think he would fit in at Arsenal.
‘Once you’re at the stage where a player is left out, the writing does appear to be on the wall.’
Premier League legend Shearer also believes Arsenal should sign a new striker butsuspects Arteta may stick with his current options.
He does, though, expect Toney to be on the move before the summer transfer window shuts at the end of the month.
‘If it was up to me, I would look to bring one in,’ Shearer said. ‘Listening to Mikel it doesn’t sound like they’re going to bring one in. They might bring in Mikel Merino from Sociedad.
‘He’s looking for a striker to improve on the numbers of Havertz, Trossard, Saka and what the team did last year. Can they do find that player? I don’t see why not.
‘I think from Brentford’s point of view they probably have to sell Ivan Toney. They can’t afford to wait another six months and let him leave for free.
‘I would be amazed if he went for £15m, I would imagine it would be more like £40m.
‘The only downside is his replacement has got a bad injury and will be out for a while so do they have time to bring someone else in? But it does sound like he’s going to leave in the next couple of weeks.’