It looks like Benjamin Sesko is the striker for Arsenal. According to reports in Germany, the Gunners have reached a verbal agreement with the 22-year-old over a deal to move to the Emirates Stadium this summer.
A striker was the top priority for manager Mikel Arteta and new sporting director Andrea Berta during the summer transfer window, with Arsenal finishing as runners-up in the Premier League for the third straight season
Injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus in the second half of the 2024/25 campaign hit them hard, with Mikel Merino having to be utilised as a makeshift striker in their absence
Arsenal are long-term admirers of Sesko and tried to sign him last summer, only for the striker to put pen to paper on a new deal with RB Leipzig – more to protect the German side than anything else
But they look to have got their man this time around if those reports in Germany are to be believed.
A fee is still to be agreed between the two clubs, with anything between £68.5million and £85.5million likely to be ironed out in the coming days
There has been plenty of talk already this summer over who Arsenal would move to sign – Sesko or Sporting CP frontman Viktor Gyokeres, who has also been heavily linked this summer as well as last year.
And Arsenal’s seeming decision to prioritise a move for Sesko speaks volumes.
There can be little doubt that Gyokeres has the upper hand when it comes to goalscoring exploits, with 97 goals in the last two seasons for the Portuguese giants.
Sesko’s output pales in comparison, with 39 strikes in his last two seasons. However, there is a quality of opposition to think about.
Gyokeres has been firing in the Portuguese league – not considered one of the top five European divisions – whereas Sesko has been in the Bundesliga
That top-league experience speaks volumes when it comes to Arsenal making one of their biggest transfer decisions in seasons. And there’s another factor too
Sesko has just turned 22 years old, while Gyokeres has just turned 27. Given the suggestion that both players are likely to cost big money, with Sporting CP president Federico Varandas saying the Swede will not be sold on the cheap, the fact the Slovenian is five years younger also speaks volumes when it comes to Arsenal’s transfer plans.
Sesko will certainly be more sellable in the future, not that the Gunners will be thinking about that right now, but it does factor into clubs’ thinking, particularly with Financial Fair Play and Profit and Sustainability Rules to think about in the future.
Arsenal will also feel they will get more out of Sesko in the longer term, even if it may take him time to settle into a new league and adapt to new surroundings at a young age
