Arsenal Invincible Ray Parlour has advised his former club NOT to splash out £100 million on Brentford striker Ivan Toney this month and still believes they can go all the way in the Premier League title race.
Mikel Arteta’s side return to action from their Dubai winter training break with a home game against struggling Crystal Palace after a winless December in which they struggled to score goals.
Many fans and pundits believe the answer to Arsenal’s problem lies in proven goal machine Toney. Parlour, however, believes the move is not only unlikely but would not be the right one to go for just now.
The ex-England midfielder explained: “They say £100million for Ivan Toney? I wouldn’t be paying £100m for Ivan Toney if I am being honest.
“In the summer they can look at it again and regroup when there will be a lot more players available.
“There is still a long way to go and they are creating chances but have dried up in front of goal. They need a striker but at this time of year who is available?
“Then you have to take into account the financial situations with certain clubs. They have to look at the FFP rules after what has happened to Everton. They have to stick by the rules and trade players and not just keep buying as Chelsea and Manchester City did years ago when there were no restrictions.”
Parlour, speaking as an ambassador for NetBet Online Casino also moved to reassure Arsenal fans they do have goal power in the current squad.
“Gabriel Jesus, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are still important players. They have to keep working hard in training. People go through barren spells and it will come.
“The Palace game is vital for them now. If they can get two or three goals against Palace it can quickly restore that confidence and get belief back into the squad.
“Every club goes through it. We used to go through it in November. We used to have a nightmare period in November. I don’t know why. We couldn’t put a finger on it. Arsene Wenger did not have answers either. Whatever we did we seemed to go off the boil a bit in November. Hopefully, for Arsenal, it is just a small blip. Spurs had one before. It happens.
“It just means the next game is so important for Arsenal to get all three points and get back on that winning trail again.
“Look at Man City now – they are so experienced and will probably go on a massive run. I just hope Arsenal have got a chance. Liverpool might be there and Tottenham too. Who knows?
“We were 12 points behind Manchester United at the end of February in 1998 and went and won ten games in a row and do the Double. I know the league can be a little bit different now but if a team can go just four or five wins in a row then they can have a massive chance. Arsenal have got to think like that. They have got to believe they can do that.”
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