Forget Ivan Toney – Arsenal’s next lethal goal-scoring striker is there for the taking

If Thomas Frank is to be believed, Brentford won’t sell England striker Ivan Toney for anything less than £100m once he returns from his suspension in January – a colossal amount of money, even for a goalscorer with a proven track record in the top flight. Arsenal and Chelsea, the two teams supposedly interested in signing him up, may well be given pause for thought if that price tag can’t be negotiated downwards.

But even with free-scoring forwards at a premium, there are always options – and there’s one player who’s been putting some serious numbers in Germany who could well be available at a more reasonable price come the summer. Victor Boniface looks every bit the kind of striker that Arsenal, in particular, need.

The 22-year-old Nigerian international won’t be going anywhere over the winter – he only signed for Bayer Leverkusen from Belgium this summer, when he left Union Saint-Gilloise for €20m. He would probably set a club buying him back something like three times that now, but even £50m looks like a pretty great price when compared to Toney.

Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten Leverkusen side are top of the Bundesliga after ten games, and Boniface’s goals are a pretty substantial part of the reason that they’re playing so well. He’s already scored ten goals this season in just 14 matches in all competitions, with his seven league goals coming off an impressive xG of 9.1. That tally also means that he’s already equalled his scoring exploits last season Belgium, a testament to the speed of his development over the past season or so. There’s every reason to believe that he can get even better.

Boniface has many of the same qualities that Toney possesses, and which Arsenal both want and thought they might have had in Gabriel Jesus – he’s quick, dangerous down the channels and runs brilliantly with the ball, with the movement and ball-carrying skills to complement players like Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli and to create a truly fluid front three.

He’s also a much better passer than many forwards, and while Arsenal’s nimble wingers cut inside and drag defenders around, Boniface would have the capacity to play quick one-twos and lay-offs to exploit the attacking speed and the space it creates. Toney can do a lot of that too, but the way that Boniface has linked up with players like Florian Wirtz at Leverkusen is surely a level up from the play that Toney has exhibited at Brentford. Boniface adds a real dash of fluency to the Leverkusen attack.

Arsenal hoped they would have a lot of this with Jesus, of course, but the Brazilian forward is not only somewhat inconsistent but also far less effective in front of goal, at least based on the evidence of this season. Jesus has consistently undershot his xG by a substantial margin and lacks the lethal instincts of a top striker – that may not prove to be the case with Boniface.

One issue with Boniface is that he isn’t especially effective at the defensive duties asked of strikers in a high-pressing unit, and that’s an area in which Jesus excels. The former Manchester City man averages 1.72 successful tackles per game, for instance, while Boniface only manages 0.47 – a pretty mediocre return. But if he proves to be the kind of 20 goal per season striker that the Gunners desperately need to compete for the title, then that may not seem like such an issue.

The main reason to pull out the chequebook and go for Toney is simply that he’s proven, and Boniface is still only a few months into his first season in a big five league. Toney may lose a step after spending so long on the sidelines and unable to train, but it’s reasonable to assume you’d get a quality striker before too long, while there’s at least an element of reasonable doubt with Boniface. On the other hand, he’s five years younger with plenty of room to improve even further – and would likely set a side back something like half of Brentford’s asking price.

Not that Leverkusen will be in any rush to sell. The Nigerian has established himself as an immediate fan favourite and as a key cog in a team which has a real chance of breaking Bayern Munich’s long domination of the Bundesliga – although Harry Kane and company are only two points behind. There is close to zero chance that the German side countenance a transfer before the season is over, and Toney could well be available in January. Boniface is much more of a long-term option, but looks like a damned good one.

If Boniface keeps up his current rate of return for Leverkusen, it won’t be long before the biggest clubs in Europe start circling. High-end strikers are a rarity, and one that’s available for much less than, say, a Toney or a Victor Osimhen will have plenty of suitors. If Arsenal decide not to put all their chips in the middle on Toney, then looking further forward and making a move for Boniface makes an awful lot of sense.