Arsenal in for Ivan Toney? Striker opens up about his 'next club', touting potential Gunners move

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Arsenal has always appealed to Ivan Toney, according to the Brentford forward himself

Arsenal badge and Ivan Toney of Brentford looks on during the Premier League match between Brentford FC and Nottingham Forest at Brentford Community Stadium on April 29, 2023 in Brentford, England.
(Image credit: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Arsenal could be the preferred next club of Ivan Toney, should he ever decide to leave Brentford.

That's according to the striker himself who told Steven Bartlett on The Diary of a CEO podcast that he could see himself playing for the Gunners. Toney was banned from football for eight months following gambling charges but has now sat down with Bartlett to discuss not just the ban but his career on the podcast.

While plenty of headlines have been made from the 27-year-old's willingness to speak out against the FA and his treatment, one interesting nugget came from a part of the conversation about where he could move next – admitting that despite being a Liverpool fan, he admires one of their rivals. 

Ivan Toney of Brentford celebrates by putting his fingers to his ears after scoring his team's winning goal in the Premier League match between Manchester City and Brentford at the Etihad Stadium on November 12, 2022 in Manchester, United Kingdom.

Ivan Toney was banned from football for eight months (Image credit: Alex Livesey / Getty Images)

“The next club I go to, if I was to move, would be the right club,“ he said. “I've been a Liverpool fan my whole life… but from young, I’ve liked Arsenal.

“I’ve liked watching Arsenal and how they play and how passionate their fans are. I’m a Liverpool boy at heart.”

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The admission is fascinating because Arsenal may well look to strengthen in attack next season, with most other areas in the team complete. Toney actually upset several Arsenal fans with his infamous “Nice kick about with the boys” tweet following Brentford's first-ever Premier League win over the Gunners.

The tweet was later used by Gunners boss Mikel Arteta during his team talk before the return fixture, as seen in Amazon's All Or Nothing documentary. 

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta arrives at the stadium prior to the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Nottingham Forest at Emirates Stadium on August 12, 2023 in London, England.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta didn't take kindly to Toney poking fun at his team (Image credit: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Toney has scored 68 goals in all competitions for the Bees since he joined three years ago, with 32 of those strikes coming in the top flight.

The forward is valued by Transfermarkt to be worth €35 million.

More Arsenal stories

Arsenal transfer news is coming thick and fast as we enter the final few weeks of the summer window.

The Gunners are reportedly willing to offer two players to Inter Milan in exchange for Nicolo Barella – and they could be about to complete the signing of David Raya from Brentford on quite an unusual basis. Arsenal are also said to have made an audacious approach for one of Barcelona’s most exciting young talents.

In FourFourTwo's Season Preview, we ask whether Arsenal are truly back, following last season's title challenge.

Mark White
Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.