Chris Sutton has discussed Arsenal’s interest in Ivan Toney and believes it makes no sense for them to sign him next month as he has hardly played in the first half of the season.
Toney has been one of the finest strikers in the Premier League since Brentford’s promotion, but he has been banned since the start of this season.
The Englishman will return to action in the second half, and Arsenal is considering signing him next month.
He did well last season and there is a general belief that he is the man to bring goals to the Emirates.
But Toney will lack match fitness when he returns and may need a lot of time to get into shape.
Sutton believes he won’t be fit enough to help Arsenal. He said, as quoted by the BBC:
‘Brentford’s Ivan Toney has been linked for a while, but he has not played for months because of his suspension. He will have been training, but how much match sharpness does he have?
‘Arsenal are trying to win the title, so they haven’t got time to wait for anyone to get up to speed.
‘If we are looking at the names that are supposedly within their grasp, Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke stands out as the best candidate.’
Just Arsenal Opinion
Toney has been in fine shape for much of his time in the Premier League, but Sutton’s opinion is valid.
He has not played this season and is not in the right condition to help us with the goals we need.
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I don’t agree with Sutton,What I know is Tony is fresh and rearing to go .pls Arteta buy Tony immediately.
I agree with you – the idea of toney being rusty is the least compelling argument for not signing him. As you say, he’ll just be fresh and probably extremely motivated.
Which goes to show how unjust and damaging the FA suspension for gambling is.
It damages the club and fans for the player’s problem.
It damages the player’s legitimate activity which is the one vital area of activity that people with a gambling problem should be encouraged to focus on to take their minds away from gambling.
That’s an interesting argument that you put forward. Do you not think that there should be any repercussions from his actions? The only people I feel sorry for are the club and its fans. Toney has been in training since September, I believe and if he has anything about him, will have attended Gamblers Anonymous or something similar
What appals me is the gambling industry supporting football clubs
The problem is that the FA is treating gambling as a crime – despite it not actually being against the law – rather than as a mental and behavioral problem that requires treatment and support.
There should definitely be sanctions in place that hopefully work to have a preventive effect. Such as a hefty monetary fine. But these preventive measures won’t work against problem gamblers.
If gambling was treated as a behavioral problem that affects the gambler and those around him/her, it can be seen that the current FA policy is making matters worse rather than better.
A lengthy suspension increases the damage to both player and those around him – the club and fans. In Sandro Tonali’s case, the gambling in question wasn’t even engaged in when he was at his current club.
The suspension damages the legitimate work that the player should be doing rather than gambling.
He bet on his own team, albeit when he wasn’t playing himself. It gives him specialist insight that would improve his ability to make accurate bets, which I think would make this be seen as immoral, if it’s not illegal.
The fa have no ability to treat anything as a crime – they treated it as a serious violation of their own laws, in relation to the practices allowed by the league. They ban players for picking up yellow and red cards in games, so why is this any different?
I also don’t see why it’s the fa’s role to find treatment for toney – I’d suggest it’s his responsibility first, but it’s also in the best interests of Brentford to find help for him if he needs it. Having some negative consequences isn’t a bad thing (and being suspended from playing is hardly a cruel punishment).
It’s also not the fa’s role to protect Brentford if one of their key players breaks the rules. They will likely implement something to reduce the chances of it happening again.
Yes indeed Sue.Gambling and drug misuse cause misery throughout the World I’m afraid.On the same theme, I am delighted to see Lyall Foster of Burnley back playing well after a troubled time with mental illness.The young South African is an excellent player and Arsenal should be monitoring his performances along with that of Burnley’s excellent young keeper James Stafford.