Brentford striker Ivan Toney said he had to “bite his tongue” after Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes’ recent “cringey” tweet.
The Gunners defenseman took to Twitter after beating the Bees 3-0 on Sunday. Goals from William Saliba, Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira sent Mikel Arteta’s side back to the top of the table. And Toney who was called up by England last weekShe has admitted they are a “different side” this season.
It was a markedly different result from the equivalent game last season, in which Brentford won 2-0 in their first game in the Premier League.
It was that win in the season opener that prompted Toney to tweet, “Nice kick with the boys.”
The news clearly upset Arteta because he showed his players the message before the second leg at Emirates Stadium.
The Amazon Prime documentary ‘All or nothing’ featured Arteta, who highlighted what Toney said actually made up his team chat before the game.
And it had the desired effect as Arsenal won 2-1, Alexandre Lacazette posted the exact same sentence to poke fun at Toney’s earlier tweet.
“Cringey” tweet
Gabriel followed suit after the weekend win, again posting, “Nice kick out with the boys” – but this time Toney didn’t see the funny side.
“I think once was fun, the second time was a bit spasmodic,” he joked. “I bit my tongue, wanted to answer and nibble.
“But fair play for them, they’re a different Arsenal side to the ones we’ve played against before.”
However, Toney’s mind was fixed on England all week. Five goals in seven Premier League games saw the former Peterborough man called up by Gareth Southgate.
Toney has revealed he failed the grade at Newcastle and moving to Peterborough in 2018 came as a shock.
“That was an eye opener. That was: ‘Right, I have to turn my game around to get back up – I might see myself as a Premier League player, but I’m a League One player now. I have to keep fighting and working hard.” And I definitely did that,” said the 26-year-old.
Toney has something to prove
“That was a factor that came into play. I felt like, ‘You’re rid of me, I’m going to show you what I’m capable of if I get the chance, whether it’s a Premier League side or a League One side.’
“When I left Newcastle and went to Peterborough, I wasn’t directly in the team. So I had to work a lot harder. Other strikers in front of me who scored goals. It was about being patient and when the opportunity comes, you have to take it.”
England travel to Milan on Friday to face Italy in the Nations League. Three days later, they host Germany at Wembley, with Toney shooting for game time.
“So surreal,” Toney said when asked what it was like to train with the Three Lions.
“I feel like being in an English top here is a huge privilege and it’s huge for me and my family and also for my club.
“Not only did I do that, but everyone around me played a big part.”
