Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been warned by a former teammate that signing Ivan Toney may not be a guaranteed success.
The Gunners have been linked with the Brentford talisman for quite some time and amid a string of wasteful performances in front of goal, the clamour to land his signature is larger than ever among the Emirates faithful. The Bees are expected to demand at least £100million to part ways with the 27-year-old this month.
Toney hasn't kicked a ball competitively all season due to an eight-month suspension for breaching FA betting regulations and ex-Gunner Bacary Sagna believes that the lengthy lay-off is enough to offer Arteta some food for thought this window.
Speaking to Mirror Football on behalf of Sagna revealed that he does harbour some concerns over the potential signing of Toney. He claimed: "I like Ivan Toney. I think he is a very talented player. It will be interesting to see how he comes back after missing the first half of the season through suspension.
"How will he be able to deal with the physicality of the Premier League after a six-month absence? I know that he has been training, but training and playing in competitive games are very, very different. That would be my only concern if Arsenal were looking at signing him.
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"He definitely has the quality (to play for Arsenal). He is a top striker who is strong, holds the ball up well and can score goals. Of course, he has the profile that would be good for Arsenal."
For all of the speculation surrounding Toney's potential transfer to Arsenal, Sagna made clear that Gunners fans should not forget that Arteta can already call upon some supremely talented attackers. The Frenchman even suggested that criticism of the current strikeforce has often been "disrespectful".
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Ivan Toney has long been the subject of speculation linking him with a move to Arsenal (Simon Stacpoole/Getty Images)"We shouldn’t forget that Arsenal already have a top striker in Gabriel Jesus," Sagna added. "People are always questioning his ability, but I think he is a wonderful player.
"A lot of people have suggested that Arsenal need to upgrade the strikers they have, but I think sometimes it’s easy to be a little bit disrespectful towards the players that are already in the squad. Arsenal has good strikers. Eddie Nketiah is also a good player that has scored some vital goals for Arsenal."
Arteta himself has played down the idea of Arsenal signing a striker this month. Speaking after Sunday's FA Cup elimination against Liverpool, the Arsenal boss claimed: "At the moment it doesn’t look realistic. My job is to improve our players and get better results with the players we have."
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