Why Arsenal didn’t sign Ivan Toney after meeting with him

Ivan Toney, the prolific Brentford striker, is on the verge of completing a move to Al Ahli in Saudi Arabia, where he is set to sign a lucrative four-year deal worth £300,000 a week.

Toney reportedly passed his medical in London, and the final details of the transfer are now being ironed out between Al Ahli, Brentford, and the player’s camp.

Despite Toney’s availability on the transfer market and his apparent desire to join Arsenal, a move to the Emirates is not happening.

This decision by Arsenal, however, does not stem from doubts about Toney’s goalscoring ability—his record speaks for itself—but from concerns about his personality and how it might affect the squad’s dynamic.

Reports from Team News and Ticks indicated that Arsenal officials met with Toney to discuss a potential transfer.

However, during these discussions, the club’s hierarchy reportedly found his personality to be incompatible with the team culture and environment that Mikel Arteta has been cultivating at the club.

This would explain the silence surrounding a possible deal, despite earlier indications that Arsenal were keen on the striker.

Toney, who changed agencies last year, was eager to move to a bigger club, with Arsenal being his preferred destination.

He believed that his style of play would be a perfect fit for Arteta’s system, complementing the existing attacking options at the Emirates.

However, it was not his ability on the pitch that concerned Arsenal, but rather his off-pitch personality, which did not resonate well with the club’s leadership.

The Gunners are in the process of building a cohesive and harmonious squad, prioritising players who not only excel on the pitch but also contribute positively to the team’s morale and unity.

Brentford, aware of the diminishing time left on Toney’s contract, valued him at around €50 million but seem to have accepted £35m from the Saudis.

With his contract set to expire next summer, this transfer window was seen as the ideal opportunity for the Bees to cash in on their star striker.

However, with Arsenal stepping back, Brentford faced the challenge of finding another suitable buyer for the 27-year-old.