Transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on the Arsenal striker situation ahead of this January’s transfer window.
Eddie Nketiah was in superb form to score a hat-trick in the win over Sheffield United at the weekend, and Romano insists the Gunners are very happy with him, despite there also being some interest in Brentford striker Ivan Toney as well.
For now, Romano insists Arsenal have nothing agreed over Toney, who is also wanted by Chelsea and who won’t come cheap, so it’s currently looking unlikely that his arrival can be taken as a given, and therefore Nketiah’s place in Mikel Arteta’s squad is surely safe.
“Arsenal really wanted him (Nketiah) to stay, they extended his contract months ago, so the idea has always been to trust him. I have no indications of him leaving,” Romano told The Debrief podcast.
“Toney is really appreciated by Arsenal, same at Chelsea, so I think the race is absolutely open. At the moment nothing is agreed with the player or Brentford, but for sure he’s appreciated.
“We’ll have to see Arsenal’s situation in December, it will depend on their position in their Champions League group and the Premier League table. It’s not guaranteed that they will spend big money on Toney, because it would have to be at least £65m, so Arsenal want to take their time to decide on what they need.”
Some Arsenal fans will surely want to see an upgrade come in up front, even if Nketiah is a decent squad player who can do damage to teams like Sheffield United from time to time.
Toney, however, would likely be able to take this team to the next level, giving more of a guarantee of 20-25 goals a season than either Nketiah or Gabriel Jesus can give.
It won’t be easy, however, so as Romano says, this is surely an open situation ahead of January.
Strength and Arial ability upfront needed. Plus a consistent 20 goals a season. Not sure if Nketiah is the Target man needed against the top 6 teams, but he is needed the same a Jesus as you need at least 3 strikers to cover league, cup games and Europe, plus their will always be injuries. So it’s a case of adding one more striker that gives us something different
, like a Tall technical 20 goal TargetMan.