Gunners track PSV star

Arsene Wenger is keeping a close eye on the progress of PSV striker Ola Toivonen with the intention of bringing the Swede to the Emirates in January, according to talkSPORT.

Toivonen signed for PSV back in 2009 for a fee reported to be in the region of €4 million, though the Dutch side are believed to be after three times this amount, with a valuation of around £12 million placed on the strikers head.

Arsenal were reported to have been tracking the PSV star over the summer, though he signed a new contract keeping him with Dutch side until 2014, Wenger’s interest was thought to have dithered away.

Toivonen, 25, has established himself as a key player in the PSV set up, and the Swede has been able to replicate his form at club level on the international stage, bagging three goals in his last four matches for his country. In 76 appearances with PSV, Toivonen has scored an impressive 35 goals and has caught the attention of Juventus, as well as Arsenal and other top European clubs.

Arsene’s activity in the summer transfer window was ultimately very last minute, with most of his wheeling and dealing taking place on the last day of the transfer window. The sale of both Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri earlier in the window, provided Wenger with the financial power and, to some extent, the time to go in to the transfer market, and the Arsenal boss is adamant that none of his new signings were ‘panic’ purchases, but were being pursued throughout the summer window.

Others believe Arsenal’s 8-2 drumming away at Old Trafford was the catalyst for activity in the transfer window, and Wenger is desperate to avoid the same kind of last-minute activity by already targeting players for January.

Arsenal have relied heavily on Robin van Persie for their goals in recent season, and though the likes of Gervinho and Park Chu-Young have been brought in to relieve some of this pressure, Wenger is still keen to bolster his attacking options for the second half of the campaign.

With a hefty sum still left over from the sales of both Fabregas and Nasri, £12 million is likely to be both an affordable and a reasonable valuation that both clubs look likely to agree upon.

Click HERE to see the original article. This article was first published on TransferTavern

Written by Thomas Kenny