An "underrated" star has been told to join Arsenal and make what would be the "perfect match" a reality, coming after a pretty encouraging admission this week.

Arsenal's quiet January transfer window

Despite rumoured interest in a new striker and midfielder, Mikel Arteta was forced to watch on as sporting director Edu decided not to take any action in January.

Edu considering Chelsea hijack to sign "world-class" star for Arsenal

The Gunners still have plans to sign a striker.

ByEmilio Galantini

The Gunners, despite Arteta claiming they have one of the Premier League's "thinnest" squads, were one of the division's most quiet teams when it came to both incomings and outgoings.

"We have one of the thinnest squads in the League, that's for sure," said the Spaniard (via Standard Sport).

"And when you talk about the numbers, especially in certain areas, we are really thin. It wasn't possible [to do any January deals]. And now we didn't have the capacity to improve the team in the way that we think we want to improve it, so we decided not to do something yet."

Perhaps the right deals were just not do-able in what is usually a very tricky window to navigate, and upsetting the balance of Arteta's squad could've been risky as they compete with Man City and Liverpool for their first league title in 20 years.

Bukayo Saka

7.56

Declan Rice

7.20

Martin Odegaard

7.12

Gabriel Jesus

7.07

Gabriel Martinelli

7.00

In any case, there are holes in the squad which need addressing at some point. Their lack of a potent number nine is a real topic of discussion and has been since the very beginning of 2023/2024. Arteta has just Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah as his senior striking options right now, which has led to Edu's widely reported interest in signing Brentford star Ivan Toney.

Arsenal are one of the main contenders to sign Toney, with Bees boss Thomas Frank even admitting this week that he is likely to be sold.

"It is relatively obvious that Ivan Toney will probably be sold this summer," said Frank to Tipsbladet (via The BBC).

"It can be 'expensive' to sell your best player, but conversely I also know that this summer he only has one year left on his contract with us. We also know what he is worth. I don't think there are many strikers in the world who are better than him right now."

Ivan Toney told to make "perfect" Arsenal move

In reaction to this, ESPN pundit Janusz Michallik has urged Toney to seal a move to Arsenal, calling it a "perfect match" for the striker who's been called "underrated" (Statman Dave).

"He’s a great number nine in terms of hold-up, he can assist, he can score. He’s great on set-pieces. His pace, his size, his stamina, just about everything. You tell me a player like that,” said Michallik.

“He takes Arsenal to the next level, he takes Manchester United to the next level. I don’t care if Hojlund’s there or not. We’ve talked about Real Madrid, how many players you need and all that. So all those three teams: Chelsea for sure. But yeah, I think if I’m Ivan Toney and I look at the projects where they currently are, and it’s my big move, maybe the only big move a player like Ivan Toney’s going to make, no doubt, in his mind and on Arsenal’s mind, this is a perfect match.”