Yes, it’s only two matches, but Arsenal’s win over Aston Villa on Saturday was a statement of intent given that Unai Emery’s side beat them home and away last term.
The London club have been efficient in the summer transfer market and it remains to be seen if any late deals will be concluded before Friday’s deadline.
Arsenal’s latest transfer capture is Mikel Merino, with the midfield now having more guile and legs, as well as the defence being strengthened with the arrival of Riccardo Calafiori.
But one area of the pitch Arsenal haven’t added to this summer has been the forward areas, despite noises of a striker being needed.
Mikel Arteta’s side scored 91 goals to Manchester City’s 96 last season, so perhaps that bonafide number nine isn’t needed after all, but it hasn’t stopped the club from looking.
One man who has constantly been linked to the Gunners has been Brentford striker Ivan Toney – he is out of contract next summer.
The likes of Arsenal are waiting for Toney’s £50 million price tag to drop, with the deadline edging ever closer.
But the title-chasers might not get the ‘very confident’ Toney after all because a move to Saudi Arabia could be in the offing.
Simon Jordan stated that it’s ‘sad’ Toney isn’t moving to another Premier League side, and instead, heading to the Middle East at this stage of his career, as he told talkSPORT.
The 28-year-old was part of England’s squad at Euro 2024 and he only scored four league goals last season because he was serving a betting ban for half of the campaign.
Ivan Toney set for Saudi Arabia transfer
“If it’s £50 million, then you are also talking about if he is there (Saudi Arabia) for three years, then he is going to get it tax-free if he stays there for the full three years,” said Jordan. “That becomes about £80-85 million if you aren’t paying tax on it.
“I think it’s sad for him. I think it’s sad that he has got himself into a situation where he is revered as one of the best forwards in competitive football and he is going to go and play in an uncompetitive league. I understand that it’s easy for me to turn around and say.
“But there are certain things that are still more valuable. He is still going to earn £10-15 million a year playing in England if he were to be transferred somewhere else. I suspect the economics of the deals would benefit lots of people around him.”
Kai Havertz form for Arsenal
Some suggested Havertz isn’t good enough to win the Premier League title for Arsenal, but he has shut up a lot of people since joining.
Before he arrived, it was suggested that Havertz was going to ‘flop’ at Arsenal, but when the goals started rolling in, all that talk soon stopped.
This isn’t about the German hitting 20+ goals, but scoring enough and then ensuring those around him from Leandro Trossard to Bukayo Saka score more goals because of his link-up play and movement.
At the end of the day, talk of Arsenal needing a striker will only end if they can dethrone Manchester City from the top table of English football.
