Ivan Toney ‘will be an Arsenal player’ as Gunners backed to beat Chelsea to deal

Ivan Toney will join Arsenal but not until next summer, reckons former Chelsea left-back Scott Minto. The pundit says the Gunners will beat his old club to the striker’s signature but will have to wait until the end of the season before completing a deal.

Arsenal and Chelsea are both interested in signing Toney in January. The 27-year-old will be allowed to play again early in the New Year following his eight-month ban for breaching the FA’s betting rules.

Brentford want up to £100million for Toney, who has scored 32 goals in 66 Premier League appearances since the Bees were promoted to the top flight in 2021. Minto is a big fan of the England international, who came up through the divisions after disappointment early in his career at Newcastle.

He claims it is inevitable that Toney will leave the Gtech Community Stadium. However, he believes he owes Brentford at least the remainder of the season following their support during his ongoing ban.

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Minto said on talkSPORT: “In terms of Ivan Toney, I’ve gone on record many a time to say I’ve got utmost respect and admiration for a guy who’s been knocked back and yet come up through the EFL and was absolutely smashing it before he got the ban. It isn’t easy to be out for that long, even if you are training as much as you possibly can.

“It will be interesting to see what happens, rumours that he’s going to sign a new contract at Brentford. That will only be because there will be a set clause in there to say if a club meets this, then you can go.

“Otherwise there’s no way he’s going to [sign a new contract]. He’s got 18 months left on his contract.

“You can say the greatest respect to Brentford but Brentford fans understand, it’s not a question of if he goes, it’s when he goes. But you’ve got [Bryan] Mbeumo, you’ve got [Yoane] Wissa, who are maybe going to AFCON.

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“I think he owes Brentford, if Brentford want him to stay, I think he owes the club to stay until the end of the season. But he’s gone [after that].”

When he does go, Minto believes Arsenal will win the race for his signature. He added: “As much as I’d love to see him at Chelsea, I think he will be an Arsenal player next season.”

Arsenal’s two main striker options are Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah. Jesus has struggled with injuries, though, while Nketiah has been unable to perform consistently at the highest level.

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