‘That’s not ideal’: Roy Keane says ‘quality’ player would be a risky January signing for Arsenal

Add as preferred source on Google

There’s been a lot of talk about Ivan Toney moving to Arsenal this January.

Fabrizio Romano has claimed that the Gunners have asked about the conditions of a deal, while the player himself has been open about the fact he really admires the north London club.

As you can imagine, Arsenal supporters are very excited about the prospect of a player like Toney coming to the Emirates, but Roy Keane has his doubts.

Speaking on Stick to Football, Keane has been debating the merits of this signing with Jamie Carragher, and he reckons that bringing Toney in would be a massive risk considering he’s not played competitively for a number of months after his recent ban.

Toney a gamble

Keane gave his view on the striker potentially joining Arsenal.

“I still think if they’re to win the league they need a striker. I do look at that and you think of the Toney situation and he is a quality centre-forward,” Carragher said.

“He’d be coming to the club having not played for a number of months, that’s not ideal either,” Keane said.

Risky

Keane is spot on, this signing would be a risk.

Match fitness and fitness are two completely different things, and if Toney hasn’t played for six months by the time he arrives at Arsenal, it will take him time to get up to speed.

Come January, Arsenal may not have time to waste, they may be right in the middle of a title challenge and they need to be bang at it every single week if they want to walk away as champions.

Toney is a fantastic player and he could be the difference-maker for Arsenal, but, at the same time, signing a player off the back of such a lengthy suspension halfway through a season does seem like a risk no matter who it is.