By Rob Worthington (Deputy Editor)
Just over a month ago, my Editor-in-Chief and arch nemesis Alfie Cairns Culshaw uploaded a compelling video to our website’s YouTube channel suggesting Arsenal do not need to sign a striker this Summer. Whilst my foe’s video somewhat saddened me due its immense quality, on various instalments of the Arsenal Cannon Podcast I have made similar arguments in agreement with Alf.
However, a report from The Telegraph’s Sam Dean earlier today indicates those in charge of Arsenal’s summer 2024 player recruitment may not be in full agreement with us. Dean’s article disclosed the Gunners are plotting a move for RB Leipzig’s Slovenian striker Benjamin Sesko. The Leipzig forward is a man mountain, standing at 6ft 5in, and has steadily found his feet in the German top flight since his move from sister club RB Salzburg last summer.
I’ll talk a little bit about how Sesko profiles in this article not so much in relation to what he might bring to the table at Arsenal, but more so regarding the potential signing’s short-to-long term impact on Mikel Arteta and Edu’s squad building plans. The initial links to Sesko reveal a multitude of elements of the club’s overall summer plans.
Let’s start at the price point. Sesko is swimming in a wholly different valuation pool to the likes of Alexander Isak and Ivan Toney who have also been touted as possible striker signings for Arsenal. Brentford are believed to value Toney as a player worth north of £60 million, and Newcastle’s Isak would doubtlessly cost considerably more than that. It is likely that if Arsenal were to move for either player, they would join the club as the statement signing of the summer.
Sesko wouldn’t be that type of signing. He would fall more into the category of a Jurrien Timber or David Raya type squad addition than a Kai Havertz or Declan Rice. The Slovenian may have joined Leipzig for £55 million last summer, but transfer fees exchanged between sister clubs are always a bit fishy and he has scored just 13 Bundesliga goals this term.
This is a £40-50 million player in his current form. His hype train has slowed down a bit since being linked with a big money move to Manchester United two years ago, and he is far from the finished product at 20 years of age. After witnessing the struggles of an inexperienced young forward last weekend, with Rasmus Højlund largely failing to trouble the Arsenal defence and fluffling his lines when he did, I'd be surprised if Arsenal spent more than £50 million on a similar type of forward.
This is the type of deal that only gets done if Leipzig are sympathetic to Arsenal’s demands in this regard. There is a fair chance they won’t be. Sesko is a superb finisher, significantly outscoring his expected goal tally of 7.4 in the league this term, and young strikers are a notoriously hot commodity for clubs to possess.
Nevertheless, if the Bundesliga club were to offload Sesko to north London this summer, Arsenal would be left in a strong position to pursue more expensive targets in positions of more pressing concern. Blatantly obvious is Arsenal’s need to find a new partner for Declan Rice in their midfield, and it is also clear that quality depth needs to be added in wide areas.
It is clear with Arsenal targeting a striker at a cheaper price point they are holding back the funds to spend big elsewhere. What about those already at Arsenal though? What would a new striker coming in mean to them?
It goes without saying Sesko’s arrival, or a player of similar profile, would spell the end of Eddie Nketiah’s Arsenal career. The English forward has been an excellent servant to the club but has hardly featured during the second half of the season and clearly isn’t a perfect system fit.
Moving on to the more senior forward figures, a Sesko arrival would also influence the roles of Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus. Havertz has established himself as the first choice no. 9 since the turn of the year. His ability to be both a focal point and a second no. 10 has opened a plethora of attacking doors for the Gunners, and his personal output whilst playing up front has been elite.
Signing Sesko would only consolidate Havertz security in his role as first choice. Not only is Havertz representative of a more refined version of the Slovenian, but the addition of another tall striker is indicative of Mikel Arteta’s vision for the #9 role at Arsenal moving forward. He wants a technical brute who can not only score ugly goals and dominate aerially, get the best out of those around him. Arteta envisages Havertz becoming a master of this role, Sesko will be the apprentice.
As for Gabriel Jesus, well, his future in the centre-forward position looks a bit bleaker. It has been noted this week that in all of Arsenal’s signpost defeats of the season it was Gabriel Jesus who started at no. 9. With his persistent injury issues, he has looked less physically capable as a striker and there are no immediate signs his average finishing will be improving any time soon.
This doesn’t necessarily spell an end to his Arsenal career. The former Manchester City man has been linked with a move away from the club in recent weeks, but Mikel Arteta could be gearing up to utilise him as a more versatile forward option, taking a bit of the considerable load placed on the likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.
Given his constant knee issues, I certainly wouldn’t be averse to waving goodbye to Gabriel Jesus this summer if a suitable offer were to arrive, but another striker signing wouldn’t leave him surplus to requirements.
And there folks is pretty much every conceivable angle we can consider the potential acquisition of Benjamin Sesko from. The attraction to the player represents Mikel Arteta’s desire to deploy a true focal point up top, and the strategic targeting of a more affordable striker insinuates Arsenal are readying themselves to spend BIG elsewhere. Isn’t it amazing what we can learn from perhaps wholly inaccurate transfer speculation!?
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