Arsenal are planning to test Brentford’s resolve with a January bid for Ivan Toney, with the striker poised to leave the Bees in the New Year once his betting ban is up

Arsenal are stepping up their interest in Ivan Toney ahead of the January transfer window.‌

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta is eyeing a move for the Brentford striker to bolster Arsenal’s title challenge. The Bees are willing to sell but will demand at least £60m for the centre forward who has returned to training after serving half of his eight month ban for breaching strict FA betting rules.

Toney, 27, will be able to play again in January after completing the suspension – and Arsenal have got him firmly in their sights.

Mirror Sport revealed last week that Brentford have got a price in their minds and will not sell unless any club meets their demands.

Arteta wants to bring a proven goalscorer to his squad, wants to add a physical presence to his attack and Toney fits the bill, having scored 20 goals in the top flight last season.

Arsenal are long term admirers and might have pushed to sign him in the summer had Toney not been banned. The Gunners do have striker options with Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus but they also know that to push Manchester City in the title race they need a prolific scorer.

It remains to be seen whether Nketiah could even be put into a deal but he has vowed to fight for his place and his form this season has been rewarded with an England call-up.

But Arteta has shown his ruthless streak by replacing popular keeper Aaron Ramsdale with David Raya, who is on loan from Brentford with a deal which is set to become permanent next summer.

Brentford know that Toney is keen on moving to a bigger club and the England international will only have 18 months left on his deal.‌ Toney has made it clear to Brentford that he is not keen on signing a new deal despite Thomas Frank offering his full support and a new contract when he was hit with the ban in May for 232 breaches of the FA betting rules.

Chelsea and Tottenham are also watching developments closely while Manchester United were keen until they signed Rasmus Hojlund.

But it is Arsenal who are pushing to be in pole position and Arteta has gained a knack for being persuasive with transfer targets having convinced Declan Rice to move to the Emirates ahead of City and Bayern Munich last summer.