TBR Football can exclusively reveal that Arsenal have no regrets about Benjamin Sesko joining Manchester United and are delighted with Viktor Gyokeres.
The Gunners weighed up a move for both strikers earlier this summer.
Sesko was on Arsenal’s radar for over a year, while Gyokeres became a target following the arrival of Andrea Berta as their new sporting director.
Arsenal went with the Swede in the end, but a small section of the fan base is upset that Manchester United have managed to land Sesko.
However, there is no such feeling at the Emirates.
Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko are both top-class strikers.
The Arsenal man has been one of the most prolific forwards on the planet over the last two years, scoring 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting in that period.
Sesko hasn’t quite scored at the same rate, but people in the game believe that he has the potential to become one of the best strikers in the world in the coming years.
Arsenal tried to sign Sesko in 2024 and also held talks over a move again in this window. They decided to go with Gyokeres in the end, but how do they feel about Sesko joining Manchester United now?
TBR Football’s chief correspondent, Graeme Bailey, can reveal that the Gunners are delighted with their choice and feel they have signed the superior striker.
He said: “They think they’ve got the better option. Gyokeres never wanted to join Manchester United. He was very particular about where he wanted to go.
“It wasn’t that he didn’t think it was the right fit – Viktor Gyokeres had a game plan for his career. He mapped out where he wanted to go, and Arsenal was the type of club he aimed for. Manchester United was never part of his thinking.
“Once Arsenal decided he was the one, they’ve been very happy. The coaches are buzzing with Gyokeres in training and absolutely loving what they’re seeing. They’re really pleased with him.”
Ruben Amorim turned Gyokeres into the superstar he became at Sporting CP.
The Swede was unplayable when the now Manchester United boss managed him in Portugal, but on Sunday, he will want to get one over him.
Amorim knows Gyokeres very well, and ahead of the game on Sunday, he appeared to warn his old striker about the difference in physicality between England and Portugal.
He said in his press conference: “It’s a different league. The physicality is different.
“In Sporting, they have a very good group of scouts because they live from that, from the players they can buy and then sell to survive.
“I think he is a very good player. He is going to give different characteristics. “It is going be different if we face in the beginning of the game Viktor or (Kai) Havertz, for example, so we need to be prepared for that.
“But it’s not a surprise to watch Viktor in a big club in England.”
