3 reasons why Arsenal should not try to sign Ivan Toney

3. Arsenal do not need to buy a 30-goal striker

Although 30 goals would be nice, recent history shows you do not need one prolific talisman to claim the biggest prizes.

Arsenal proved the merits of shared goal-scoring responsibilities last term as they registered a club-record 88 goals in the Premier League and had four players reach double figures, while 16 different scorers got in on the act – the most variation in the league.

Furthermore, in their two title-winning campaigns before Haaland arrived, Manchester City’s top scorers reached ‘just’ 15 goals (Kevin De Bruyne 2021/22 – 19 in all competitions) and 13 goals (Ilkay Gundogan 2020/21 – 17 in all competitions) respectively.

This data suggests our focus should not be on who is starting up front, but rather on the reasons why we are not scoring more.

And a brief look at our attacking stats tells the tale. According to BBC Sport, Arsenal have created just 13 ‘big chances’ this season (12th best in the league) and converted only 12% of their shots (8th best in the league), while the combined tallies of Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah (3) are exactly in line with their ‘expected goals’ rate (FBref).

Therefore, it is clear that the team’s goal-scoring woes reflect more on mediocre creative data than our striking options and, although Toney could still add a greater threat, his acquisition would not address the real problem.