Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta arrives at the stadium

“No denying” – Journalist drops update on Arsenal’s January bid for £55m-rated ace

Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta arrives at the stadium for the Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

Arsenal’s need for a striker is well known, but perhaps what has gone under the radar this month is that the Gunners have almost certainly made a bid for a long-term target.

Supporters will no doubt be mindful that losing out on Ollie Watkins is yet another tick in the ‘almost but not quite’ box.

The Watkins failure is particularly disappointing given his Gunners allegiance, but there’s still time to move on to other targets before the window closes.

Will they be a first or even second choice? Unlikely, but such are the difficulties of landing big names in this particular window.

It seems pretty clear that RB Leipzig’s £55m-rated (BBC) Benjamin Sesko remains a player of interest, and it appears that a cheeky attempt has been made by the club in January to finally acquire him.

Reliable journalist, Ben Jacobs, explained the situation on the Curtis Shaw TV podcast.

“The approach was made to Leipzig about are you or aren’t you prepared to sanction and exit,” Jacobs noted.

“I get the impression that has been done discreetly, and now it’s being downplayed by sources.

“There’s no denying that Arsenal went to Leipzig and asked the question and tried to understand whether there was a particular fee that could warrant a sale, but the other challenge is the player saying I committed to a year here because I thought it was best for my development.”

With the project still evolving under Arteta, the fact that the club appear not to have been able to land Sesko in January shouldn’t necessarily be seen as a negative.

Yes, he would’ve arguably provided the firepower needed to help force the issue in the Premier League, but if there’s a chance the club can land him in the summer for a price that’s more beneficial, that allows further room in the squad for strengthening.

Tags Ben Jacobs Benjamin Sesko Mikel Arteta

36 Comments

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  1. Why not go get Osimhen for loan, see how he’s going fair. If he does well sign him permanently and if he doesn’t free him and go for Sesko that u wanted and at a cheaper fee.

    1. A lot is said about Osimhen’s baggage, but that’s MA’s job and he’s to MANAGE even such players in our interests!!

      Could some of these reasons for turning down available options definite signs that there’s no interests in recruiting?

      be a little lazy with our targets?

  2. I read an article the other day claiming that Arsenal’s so called first choice Sesko, has signed another new contract with his club until 2029.

    With a gentleman’s agreement that he could leave in the 2025/2026 season.

    Make of that what you will. 👍

  3. Jonathan David is a great target. He has scored over 20 goals across multiple seasons, won a league title and scored in the UCL at a good rate. He’s only 25 and free in the summer. The decision making at this club is imbecilic.

  4. Arsenal are NOT interested in buying a striker despite the glaring need for it. As long it finishes in the top 4 that would be fine with them. Liverpool is too ahead & favourite to win the EPL.In July there will be stiff competition for these strikers Sesko, Gyokeres, Isak etc & Arsenal might not even buy one .

    1. only two striker across this can solve us arsenal problems number 1 is osimhen and the second his gyokeres his pace is undeniable with his striking powerful shot plus I really love this so called viktor and victor

  5. And for all this time we’ve known we needed a striker we shouldn’t have been caught up in these expensive targets.

    And I also read elsewhere Emery is almost securing a massive talent in Stefanos Tsimas for 15 million from Germany at a time when they still have the massive output of Watkins.

    And we sent Biereth and Nketia away and we are fully aware our central attack is nearly non-existent considering it’s predictability.

    1. Strangely though, none of the top clubs seemed interested in either Biereth or Nketiah and, as it now seems, they were wise not to.
      Dear old Bednter was supposed to be a striker, so should we have kept him I wonder?

      I’m sure the club knows exactly who they want and, if they can’t get him now, they’ll try again in the summer.

      1. I’m not even saying they should have kept either @Ken1946

        Their departure without suitable and competitive replacements and for so long doesn’t make sense in our current circumstances for a while. While Liverpool are planning and doing everything to win the league, we like talking about chasing Liverpool and Championship as though our success is completely left to chance without proper and consistent planning for it.

        As things stand, it honestly doesn’t make sense talking about the Championship. We aren’t ready for it ….

        @Dan: Not acceptable at all …. especially if they’re going to talk about chasing League. We’ve had too much of this abuse.

  6. Looks like Arsenal has become comblesant and can not catch up with Liverpool without signing a formidable striker.

    Liverpool are total determined to go full throttle🤔

  7. Why can’t we buy Semenyo who is a proper winger and can score because we have shown repeatedly that our Manager doesn’t want strikers.

  8. Arteta is a stubborn mule, we won’t buy anyone of substance if we do buy. He is adament and persistent in using Havertz and Sterling because he brought them in. Arsenal should have been scouting since August.

  9. We should go for Gyokeres. He is more technical and more suitable to Arsenal way of football.

    He is more lethal in the box and can score a goal from little or nothing considering the goals he already scored so far this term

  10. I think its high time we find a proper recruitment team to scout players who will fit perfectly with our style of play. At arsenal we need players who can dribble hold and protect the ball,open up spaces and a player who can outrun defenders.

    1. Scouts …. recruitment team …..

      This is where we are weakest it seems. If we had a good team in scouting, surely we wouldn’t embarrass ourselves with that last minute Watkins bid that was certainly never going to see the light of day.

  11. I don’t know why everyone is on about a 20 goal striker
    Seskos numbers are no better than havertz
    We do not play to a strikers strength. The ball is always out wide and tippy tappy. Until we change this style of play we do not need a striker
    We could have 5 haalands upfront and it would not make a difference

    1. Because he’s 21
      32 goals in 71 games approx shows he could be that natural goal scorer where as Kai Havertz has had a number of years in England to prove he will never be that
      He’s a good player Havertz , just not a natural finisher

        1. Quite right HD.

          So many people just go by numbers (goals scored). They never look at the bigger picture.

          In a recent interview, MA talked about a striker and said that it wasn’t just about goals they scored, it was many factors – do they score with both feet, their head, in what match situations, what league, do they like the physical pressures they’ll get in the PL etc etc etc.

          It’s not a million miles off my own thoughts – I see a lot of players who fluff chances when the game’s in the balance who can score great goals when it’s already won.

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