What difference one game can make, hey? Just last week, there was talk of Arsenal crashing out of the Premier League title race if they lost against Liverpool on Sunday.
Yet, in the aftermath of the Gunners' dominating performance, talk has again shifted to include them in the title race with Manchester City and the Reds.
Mikel Arteta's side looks to have put their festive period slump well and truly behind them with three wins on the bounce, yet there is still a feeling that they could be hamstrung by a lack of quality finishers in the squad.
According to Understat, the north Londoners are underperforming their open-play expected goals figure by 7.02, which is a serious problem considering the Citizens and Liverpool are overperforming theirs by 2.60 and 1.76, respectively.
What makes this situation all the more frustrating for fans, though, is that it looked as if Arsenal were primed to sign a new number nine last month, a number nine who took the league by storm last season.
Arsenal's search for a goalscorer
The Gunners have long been admirers of Brentford's prolific frontman Ivan Toney and were first linked with signing him all the way back in January 2021, when the former Newcastle United striker was still plying his trade in the Championship with the Bees.
That said, the supposed interest and subsequent rumours have seriously intensified over the last 12 months, reaching a crescendo in December and January, with reports suggesting a move mid-way through the season was a distinct possibility.
However, the price that the west Londoners wanted for their star striker – £80m – proved to be much higher than Arsenal were willing to go at this time in the year, so a deal ultimately failed to materialise.
While there is undoubtedly a solid argument to be made that the club made the right decision not to push things given the situation with PSR in the league at the moment, if poor finishing costs Arteta the chance to end Arsenal's two-decade title drought, questions might be asked.
How Ivan Toney compares to Jesus
So, had the Englishman joined Arsenal last month, who would lose out?
Well, unfortunately for Gabriel Jesus, it's pretty apparent that his position in the starting XI would be the most under threat by the arrival of the "unplayable" Toney, as once dubbed by Alan Shearer – something made abundantly clear with their recent goal records.
For example, in the 38 games Toney has played since the start of the 2022/23 season, he has scored 23 goals and provided five assists, meaning he averages 0.73 goal involvements per match, whereas Jesus' 19 goals and 13 assists in 56 appearances give him an average of 0.57 goal involvements per match.
Toney
Jesus
38
56
23
19
5
13
0.73
0.57
Now, the argument for the much-sought-after striker was a little harder to make just a month ago as he hadn't so much as trained with the Brentford squad for eight months following his footballing ban for betting offences, but since then, he has shown that he's as sharp as ever.
The fact that the 27-year-old "monster", as described by writer Billy Grant, has been able to pick up exactly where he left off in the toughest football league in the world should now probably count as another argument in his favour.
Likewise, the fact that, according to Understat, in his three years of Premier League football, he has only underperformed his overall expected goals figure by 1.46, scoring 34 of the 35.46 goals he would be expected to score.
In contrast, Arsenal's dynamic Brazilian has underperformed by a staggering 25.21 across his eight seasons in English football, scoring just 73 goals from an expected 98.21.
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Ultimately, opting not to sign Toney might have been a necessity due to financial constraints, but if it turns out that it wasn't, failing to secure his signature might be the very reason they fail to lift the title in May.