The England international has emerged as potential target for
the Gunners as they seek to change their fortunes in the final third of the
pitch.
Mikel Arteta 's side have scored just the seventh highest
number of goals in the Premier League this season and looked toothless in
recent defeats to West Ham and Fulham.
Despite being suspended since May due to a breach of betting
laws, Toney is thought to be one of their targets.
However, Brentford manager Thomas Frank has confirmed that he
doesn't expect the 27-year-old to be going anywhere this month.
“The very short answer, yes," Frank said when asked if
he expected Toney to remain at the Gtech Community Stadium. "He is a
Brentford player, he is here.
Clearly we miss a few offensive players, I can’t see why we
would sell him and I would love to have him for a longer time.
“If I ever, ever could recommend that, and it’s not for me to
say yes or no, that’s Phil (Giles, director of football) or Matthew (Benham,
owner), then it needs to be an unbelievable price. So he will stay here.”
Brentford are without Bryan Mbeumo and Kevin Schade due to
injury, while Yoane Wissa will be joining up with the Democratic Republic of
the Congo for African Cup of Nations duty this month.
That leaves Neal Maupay and Keane Lewis-Potter as their only
options up top, with Toney not set to return from his suspension until January
17th.
Toney has just 18 months remaining on his contract but
Frank's comments have confirmed that it will take a hefty fee for him to leave
west London this transfer window.
This is something Arsenal are unlikely to be able to achieve
due to profit and sustainability regulations.
The Gunners would also not be able to take Toney on loan with
a view to buy from Brentford like they have done with David Raya, as Premier
League laws limit the number of loan signings you can make from any one club.
The forward areas are a position where there could be some
movement this month, with Crystal Palace showing an interest in Eddie Nketiah.
Football.london understands that Arsenal though have not yet
indicated any desire to sell the 24-year-old.
If Nketiah were to leave then he would need replacing. Given
the tight financial restrictions Arsenal are under and the generally inflated
prices of the January transfer market, this would be difficult to pull off.
Source: Arsenal - Football.London
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