Ex-Arsenal star Paul Merson believes Mikel Arteta should ‘sign Ivan Toney in January’ and insists Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus ‘do not take the Gunners to the next level’

Ex-Arsenal star Paul Merson believes Mikel Arteta should ‘sign Ivan Toney in January’ and insists Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus ‘do not take the Gunners to the next level’.

Paul Merson has expressed his ‘concern’ about Arsenal’s attacking options, saying that Mikel Arteta’s team should recruit Ivan Toney in January because Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus ‘do not push the Gunners to the next level.’

It follows his old team’s 2-2 tie with Tottenham in the north London derby on Sunday, in which Son Heung-min scored twice to offset own goals from Cristian Romero and Bukayo Saka, as well as a penalty from the latter half.

It follows his former team’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham in the north London derby on Sunday, with Son Heung-min scoring twice to offset own goals from Cristian Romero and Bukayo Saka, as well as a penalty from Bukayo Saka in the second half. The Gunners are hoping to avenge the heartbreak of last season’s Premier League season and win their first league title.

Merson asserted that his former team required a “proper center-forward” despite the Arsenal’s desire to make up for the disappointment of last season’s Premier League campaign and win their first league championship since 2004.

Merson told Sky Sports, “I’ve always said it from day one – Eddie Nketiah is not going to win you the Premier League.”

“You need a legitimate center forward.” I don’t blame Nketiah for the 2-2 draw with Tottenham, but I don’t think he elevates them given the next 32 games and the remaining Champions League matches. Even Gabriel Jesus, in my opinion, doesn’t elevate them.

Despite being unblemished this season, the north London team has already lost ground to Manchester City in the race for the championship after conceding points to rivals Spurs and Fulham in the capital.

Arteta chose to start a front three on Sunday consisting of Jesus, Nketiah, and Saka, but Merson claimed he was ‘worried’ when he saw his former team’s starting lineup, with Mail Sport’s Ian Ladyman describing his tackle on Guglielmo Vicario during the game as ‘disgusting’ and ‘as awful as he had ever seen’.

It wasn’t Arsenal’s best team, but considering the Champions League and all the games they had to play, didn’t it appear a little underwhelmed on Sunday? Added he.

It’s acceptable to be seated there and pondering the fact that “they need a center forward,” but who is there?

There aren’t many center forwards in the world, thus they only have Ivan Toney available in January. They belong to a disappearing breed.

Toney, 27, is presently serving an eight-month ban from any football activity after he pled to 232 of the 262 charges filed against him by the FA last year which related to the organisation’s regulations on gambling.

The Brentford striker is available to play again in January, but was photographed back at the Bees training complex in August, with the club supposedly having ‘got special dispensation from the FA to allow the player to return to their premises’.

In addition, Merson praised Toney’s skill set before suggesting that Arteta could have to sign him given the dearth of center-forwards now available to Arsenal.

Toney is a good player; he can hold the ball aloft and is skilled in the air. Arsenal may need to pursue him. However, there aren’t a ton of center forwards in existence.

After a stellar campaign in which he scored 20 league goals for Thomas Frank’s team in 33 games, Toney has caught the curiosity of numerous Premier League clubs, including Manchester United, Chelsea, and Tottenham.