Arsenal won't hang around! Gunners want to sign £80m-rated Brentford hitman Ivan Toney in January - but it won't be straightforward

Arsenal have been after the Bees forward for some time but have been forced to wait until January to sign him due to the eight-month ban he was handed in May for violating betting rules. The Gunners are ready to make a move for Toney, but they would have to pay around £80 million ($102m) to convince Brentford to sell and The Independent reports that the Premier League's Financial Fair Play rules make that a difficult transfer to pull off.

Arsenal were reportedly already close to their FFP limit in the summer window, which makes any January business rather complicated. Toney, who has scored 32 goals in 66 Premier League matches for Brentford, is not the only attacker they have been looking at. Alternative option Victor Osimhen will be an even more expensive signing than Toney, however, and has just committed to a new contract at Napoli until 2026.

Coach Mikel Arteta wants to bolster his options in a few positions to aid the Gunners' bid to win the Premier League title. The Spaniard is eyeing a new midfielder and two full-backsas well as a forward, but has prioritised the latter due to his team's struggles in front of goal.

The north London team are second in the Premier League - two points behind Liverpool - and Arteta will hope to have new players in soon to prevent further slip-ups like the 2-0 defeat at home against West Ham on Thursday evening.