Toney: 'The Saudi League is on a par with the Premier'

It was March 2024 when a list of future signings for Arsenal was drawn by then sporting director Edu, and the priority was a striker. Among them Victor Osimhen, Victor Gyokeres and Ivan Toney. Brentford put a 100 million euros price tag on their striker hoping to deter any bids and yet he went to Al Ahli for 40 million pounds at the age of 28. One season later, he is still enjoying his time in Saudi Arabia, in his luxury villa. At the age of 29, he is still more than capable of playing in the Premier League but this June, there were no offers. So Toney is staying but keeps on convincing people that the Saudi League is actually much stronger than people think. After all, he believes his team would be in a Champions League fight if they were playing in England!

Al-Hilal’s 4-3 win at the Club World Cup against Manchester City was one of the things he pointed out at in order to confirm his claim. He also said many foreign players in Arabia were happy for the win.

“I was going to tweet, but I would have got killed back home so I kept my mouth shut. But people saw the quality of Hilal. The standard in Saudi Arabia is high. They can play football here. The players are not as known as in the Premier League, but there are many who can play there. Ronaldo has been around the world and probably knows a lot more than me as I have only played in the Premier League, the Championship and Leagues One and Two. For me, the Pro League is on a par with the Premier League. If Al-Ahli were in the Premier League, we’d give it a good go and we’d be close to the top four. It is a quality league and people should not turn their noses up” said Toney in an interview for The Guardian.

Ivan Toney is living it to the fullest in his luxurious villa in Saudi Arabia (VIDEO)

Former Brentford striker says that he doesn’t miss the Premier League anymore, but keeps an eye on his former club. Toney started at Al-Ahli alongside Roberto Firmino, (who left the club this July), and Riyad Mahrez helped, and Toney finished last season with 23 league goals, two fewer than Cristiano Ronaldo and two more than Karim Benzema. He expects to be better this season, but he also points out at the differences, mainly in the temperature.

“The weather played a massive part. Somebody should go and try to play in a sauna and see if they can cope. You have to play a different game with different tactics and it is something you adapt to. There are different blocks of 20 minutes where it is intense and then it has to slow down and pick up again” he explains.

His good form still didn’t enable him a call from Thomas Tuchel.

“I have to concentrate on myself, give myself the best chance possible, and who knows? If I am selected, I will do my best for my country, but if not I’ll be cheering the boys on. I don’t expect to have a conversation with Tuchel. I am sure he has other things to be concentrating on. My job is to do well. It is what it is. If you are good enough, you are good enough; it doesn’t matter where you are playing in the world. As long as you are doing the right things and scoring goals, then you give yourself a chance” said Toney.