It is easy for any media outlet to link Arsenal with a striker at this point. Some might even call it lazy journalism. After all, many in football recognise that a proven goal scorer could be the final piece of the puzzle for the Gunners. That said, Arsenal’s interest in Benjamin Šeško and Viktor Gyökeres is not speculative. It dates back to last summer.
Both players made their positions clear at the time. Šeško confirmed before Euro 2024 that he would stay with RB Leipzig for at least another season, while Gyökeres also suggested that continuing his development at Sporting Lisbon was the best decision. Arsenal, to their credit, opted not to make a short-term move. Instead, they chose patience, waiting for the right player rather than signing someone for the sake of it.
There is uncertainty around the release clauses of both players, but it is widely believed that Leipzig and Sporting have made informal assurances. If their valuations are met, they will sell. Behind the scenes, discussions have likely taken place. Arsenal Sporting Director Andrea Berta will already be aware of what both players are asking for in terms of wages and contractual expectations. Arsenal are now approaching the moment of decision.
Goals vs Growth: What Are Arsenal Prioritising?
Within the fanbase, there is growing scepticism about Šeško’s readiness to lead the line. Many feel he is simply not Gyökeres. The numbers paint a stark contrast. Šeško scored 13 league goals in the Bundesliga last season and has only once scored more than 15 league goals in a campaign between Austria and Germany. That leaves some fans questioning whether he would suddenly produce more in the Premier League.
Gyökeres, on the other hand, delivered a staggering 39 goals in 33 league appearances in Portugal. While the Primeira Liga is not as competitive as England’s top flight, those are elite numbers. Despite this, several reports suggest Mikel Arteta still prefers Šeško. Arsenal’s scouting department have tracked him for some time and believe he has the higher ceiling, even if he is not as polished right now.
This is where the debate within the fanbase starts. Many supporters are growing weary of being promised future returns. They remember being told to wait for Fabregas, Nasri and Van Persie to develop, only for the squad to lose momentum in the process. Fans now want the finished product. Players like William Saliba may also be weighing these decisions carefully. Would he rather trust in a striker who is still learning or one who can deliver immediately? It could even influence whether he signs a new deal.
Arteta’s Defining Decision
This transfer window feels like a tipping point. Arsenal fans want more than potential. It is not fair to blame Šeško for this scepticism, he may well develop into a world-class forward. But after so many years of near misses, trust must be earned, not assumed. And yet, Arteta is paid one of the highest managerial salaries in the world for a reason. His judgement, in theory, should be trusted.
There is, however, a perception that Arteta prefers players he can mould, rather than work with strong personalities. Since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s departure, Arteta has avoided building his team around a single dominant attacker. Gyökeres is not a global superstar, but Sporting’s system is built around him. That dynamic may not appeal to Arteta. He may feel more comfortable developing Šeško’s raw talent than relying on Gyökeres’ more established strengths.
But this will be a major gamble. When Arsenal signed Kai Havertz, concerns were raised about the fee and fit. Those concerns linger. If Arteta makes the wrong call here, it could be costly, perhaps even defining.
This is the crossroads of his managerial career. He must get it right.
Dan Smith
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@Dan, very good article and your final sentence is to me the most important part of it and of course him actually winning something.
Romano and Ornstein didn’t say anything about those CFs’ links to Arsenal, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Arsenal don’t sign any of them
I think their arrival will depend on Saka’s, Magalhaes’ and Saliba’s salary increases, due to FFP
The writer is echoing the centiments of my sons, but the gaffer is so close to winning somthing, he could actually get the striker situation wrong and still land us major silverware.
Take this year champions league for example, the games between Arsenal vs PSG could have gone anyway, base on chances Arsenal create, when you see the drubbing PSG handed the Italian club, it begs to wonder what could have been had the Big Brazilian was able to take part for Arsenal.
But any of these strikers will triumph in the premier league, it’s in midfield the real problem lays, when playing team with eleven players behind the ball
“The games could’ve gone either way” “what could’ve been” “we are so close to win something” etc…
Heard a lot of those in the past 3 years yet we still haven’t lifted even a tea spoon while the list of clubs who are winning trophies before us keeps increasing every season.
10 points is not close
3-1 on aggregate is not close
This is part of the problem – Gooners thinking we are better then we are / have performed better
Arsenal know what positions need filling but they seem to be doing what they do every transfer window wait and wait and then some other team comes and gets that player. If they want him buy him.
The way we bid we usually low ball and then get rejected and then maybe pay up on the last hour of the transfer window.
If that pattern is to be continued you better be bidding for both and take what you can get (if you get any accepted)
Yes just like we love galled gor that other fella for 105m.. Terrible
We all know how pathetic some our fanbase are, that there’ll be huge complaints whoever we don’t sign.
The fact is, there is not a lot in it between these two, and we cannot sign both, so we should be happy with either one of them.
It’s easy to look at the amount of goals Gyokeres is scoring, and feel he’s the better option. But one has to factor in that he scores a lot of pens, and outside of the big 3 in Portugal, the domestic opposition are Championship level at best.
Sesko isn’t scoring as many, but is 5 years younger, so plenty of room for growth. Plus he’s playing for a weaker team in relation to his league, with the Bundesliga also a better level than the league in Portugal. It’s also not just about potential either. He’s producing good numbers for a 21 year old.
I won’t complain who we get. Whoever comes in is a big upgrade on what we have anyway.
So Lucy78,
As we’ve had to wait for Arteta to grow over the last 5 years, we now sign Sesko and wait another 5 years for his growth.
Just a question for you, while we wait for the 5 year growth of Sesko, will Arteta still be the manager at the end of that 5 year growth.
And what phase will we be in then.
What makes you think we have to wait 5 years for his growth? What evidence do you have?
As I clearly pointed out, there’s pros and cons to both players. Having the higher scoring tally, doesn’t necessarily mean Gyokeres is the better player, when looked at in context. Again, the word “context” I know is alien to some Arsenal fans, but it’s very important!
For example, everyone is talking about Dembele for the world player of year at the moment, because of his excellent stats this season and trophy haul.
48 goal involvements in 49 games is an outstanding performance! No doubt, he has been very productive. But 34 of those goal involvements came domestically, in a league that PSG have absolutely zero opposition. Both in ability and financial. In fact, it’s so easy in France for PSG, that it’s actually a really tough job to NOT win everything domestically.
So there is a huge amount of stat padding when it comes to Dembele, and that is the case with Gyokeres as well. You have to consider the level of opposition week in week out.
Personally, I would just about pick Gyokeres over Sesko, given he has some experience in England (albeit the Championship), but there’s so little in it, that it doesn’t bother me who we get. And finally, you’re also not looking at it the from the club’s perspective, as in regards to the business side of things. Given Sesko’s age, sell on value will have to play a part of the overall decision.
It seems you forgot that Bruno Fernandez, CR7 and many others came from that same Portuguese League which you speak so low about. Ronaldo even became the first player to win the Balon D’or playing in England.
Your post takes everything away from the player’s ability and give him no credit at all. Will Jesus or Havertz score 50 goals in Portugal? How many Premier League strikers will score that amount of goals there? They will not.
And didn’t Jesus come from a better City to a worse Arsenal by comparison? How has he fared?
Also, going by your logic, the La Liga giants should also not be producing Balon D’or winners cos apart from them and Athletico, other teams virtually cannot sign a player to save their lives. Yet we regard them three very highly and take nothing away from their players’ abilities.
I’m not a Gyokeres fan and I’m not too sure I want him. But that doesn’t mean I don’t recognize his ability
“Ronaldo even became the first player to win the Balon D’or playing in England”
Didn’t Owen win it playing for Liverpool? (Even though he didn’t really deserve it, imo) Not to detract from your point, which I fully agree with – the way some people talk, it’s not possible for a player to move from the Portuguese league to England and do well. I would say it’s arrogant, but it’s really just because they prefer sesko and for some reason will use something so petty to discredit gyokeres.
(I have my doubts about both, but lean towards gyokeres of the two – he’s just the better bet imo, but could be wrong. Heard plenty of arguments in favour of sesko, just haven’t been impressed when I’ve watched him)
Davi, pretty sure the great Denis Law was the first player to win the Balon d’Or while playing in England.
While I agree that it’s wrong for people to talk down the Portuguese League, Gyokeres reminds of a Drogba type of player, strong and can score amazing goals, his first touch lets him down. Also I would say we would have to change our way of playing for him to fit into the team. Sesko on the other hand would fit straight in (though I’m not that big a fan of him).
Ah! I didn’t think Owen was the first (I thought there were at least several others), but he came to mind immediately because I always thought it was a strange choice.
I wouldn’t describe drogba like that – he was one of the best CFs the league has seen imo. His first touch was good, but he bullied defenders like no one since (he was stronger than he looked – and he looked strong enough already!), was brilliant in the air, both at scoring but particularly at knock downs for teammates (gyokeres is known for being relatively poor in the air). He wasn’t a *great* goalscorer imo, but had some seasons where he scored loads. I think drogba was a great team CF who could occupy defenders unbelievably well, bring others in, and score when he got the chance. I think gyokeres tends to pull wide (rather than stay mostly central like drogba), and uses his pace to run at defenders and make runs behind. He also has a powerful shot and seems quite good at been generating chances, so I think there’s some intelligence to his play. From what I’ve seen, he could improve us if the tactical setup could accommodate him.
I’m not fully convinced by gyokeres, I just have more faith he has the determination to make it work than sesko, who he’s been put up against recently.
I am not saying he doesn’t ability, but you would have to be a complete idiot not to consider all angles when signing a player for big money from a weak league. You wouldn’t buy a house without getting a building inspection would you?
It’s not to bash any player, it’s just considering all the facts. Sesko may score less, but he’s playing for a less dominant team in a tougher league.
And for every Ronaldo, or Fernandes, there’s a Joao Felix or Nunez.
Lucy78,
You say it’s not to bash any player, yet you don’t give a second thought when it comes to bashing the Portuguese and French Leagues.
Not sure why people are piling on Lucy78. The Portuguese and French leagues are generally viewed as being weaker than the PL. It is simply sensible to consider that huge goal tallies in such leagues may not necessarily be transferable to the PL.
Or are you suggesting that those leagues are as strong as the PL?
@ Derek
Do ever even read what I write?
When was I bashing those leagues? All I did was point out the facts about those leagues. PSG are on a different planet to every other French team in quality and finances. Fact!
And Portugal isn’t even considered one of the top five leagues in Europe! With the level of quality outside of Benfica, Porto and Sporting being of poor quality.
Clearly you disagree, so explain how PSG are NOT completely dominant and how Portugal IS a top league.
Lucy78,
Never once did I call either of them top leagues. But unlike you, I didn’t bash them for not being considered top leagues either. I’ll just leave that to people like you.🤷♂️
You both exaggerate each other’s arguments in order to generate conflict and place yourselves “in the right”. In so doing, you make this a worse place for all of us. No need for any of it.
Sean M,
You say that it makes it a worse place for all of you regarding me and Lucy78’s comments to each other.
Well can I politely ask you to give our posts a wide berth, hence your experience on this forum will be a better one. No one forces you to read our posts.🤷♂️👍
@Dan
Thanks for the content.
Not sure i quite go along with the misplaced idea that MA sees in Sesko some one that he’s needs to mold, whereas gyokeres is the finished article. More goals in an inferior league is hardly the evidence of this being the case?
Neither of these strikers are proven in the premiership. Neither of them has shown to deliver the goals and keep their composure (mojo) at the difficult grounds like, anfield, etihad, old trafford, goodison, st james park or stamford bridge – so it has to be BOTH players bring along the same risk when we measure up their propensity front of goal in our EPL.
Added to this both players are millionaires most likely and with that status comes arrogance or confidence, call it self belief of being physically fit as well as being able to put a ball into the onion basket.
In Sesko we don’t expect to find a 6′-5″ child. MA has already had 12 months to run the rule over both strikers – i really hope we get both.
I am surprised the club keeps funding the substandard manager even after proving time and time again how exceptional he is at wasting funds.
750+ million spent on more than 30 players and yet his squad has always looked thin.
How could it not with more than half of signed players just as substandard as their coach?
Arteta wanted Sesko last summer but he decided to stay, he wanted him again in January. Both Edu and Berta are admirers of Gyocores. Who will we end up with?
Reggie,
You ask who will we end up with?. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if we don’t get either of them. And we end up bringing in the next big thing from Brazil, who nobody’s heard of. 🤦♂️🤷♂️
You may be right Derek but Berta is a different model to Edu, he does seem to like (or did) tried and trusted. We are actively pursuing both. I would put money on Gyocores but my pound wouldn’t win me much🤣
Saying all of that, we have twice actively tried to sign Sesko. Toss the coin🫣
Reggie,
The coin would probably land bolt upright. 😂
Top notch article @ Dan, thanks.
Either of Gyokeres or Sesko will be an improvement on what we already have. However, I’m more inclined towards Gyokeres because he won trophies with Sporting, thus he knows what it takes to be champions. Can’t say the same for Sesko.
Looking at our needs for both a center forward and a left winger/left forward and Gyokeres preference in attacking is from the left, it won’t be a bad idea to get both him and Sesko.
Gyokeres on the left, Sesko in the middle and Saka on the right. Havertz on the bench, or moved to midfield with Odegaard.
Sell one of Martinelli or Trossard, and G. Jesus to balance the books.
You have said it from my heart bruv!
People don’t seem to learn at all. Why do people get too excited or paranoid about any Run Of The Mill rumour / link?
We don’t know who the club is going to buy but we seem to let these gossip, tabloid, Rumour media outlet sensationalise us. People will read any transfer Rumour and then turn around and start criticising the club, manager or DoF etc for wanting to buy that particular player. Or we will get excited when a rumour is conjured up in the media regarding a given player.
What we keep failing to understand is that these are just rumours / gossip that should be taken with a little pinch of salt. We don’t know what’s going on but we are letting the people tabloids manipulate our emotions by making up all sorts of “Links about this and that player.”.
Let’s calm down and not let gossip media outlets manipulate and sensationalise us.
It happens every season but we still don’t seem to learn. We all have enough experience (at least decades) of going through these Transfer Windows but we still seem to buy all the ridiculous links / rumours / gossips were are constantly fed.
🤦♂️🤦♂️
Goonster, many people seem to be gullible when it comes to transfer news in the MSM. If we sign half of the players we are linked to in the MSM, we would probably have 3 teams and need 2 coaches to transport all of the players.
“Arsenal, to their credit, opted not to make a short-term move. Instead, they chose patience, waiting for the right player rather than someone for the sake of it”.
Dan, that’s rather hypothetical of you to write that in your article, considering how you banged on for months that we didn’t sign a striker in the January window.
HD, they didn’t opt for it, it turned out that way. After they found out they couldn’t get Sesko, Arteta wanted Watkins but Villa wanted too much money. Watkins wasn’t happy and Arsenal thought they could get him cheap. But they didn’t. Watkins wasn’t a long term, he was an after thought because we couldn’t secure Sesko.
In January.
My memory is that Villa wanted in the order of £60m and we weren’t going near that. I’m not surprised as Watkins was a short term fix at his age and wouldn’t have any significant resale value at all. Arteta may have wanted him at a certain price but not if it was going to cause problems later imo.
Thats how is is/was Sue.
Nah mate
Short term move last summer I give them credit for
I banged on since January we should have got help
I said it would cost us everything ……and I was spot on lol
As In could not have been more spot on unlike some who defended it
I haven’t seen enough of both players to form an opinion. But we desperately need a consistent goalscorer considering that this season no player reached double figures in EPL goals. The last time that happened? 1924!!!
That is arsenal club’s are signing players arsenal is still biding
What do you mean?
It seems to me a very simple choice.
If we really want to win to try to in the League this upcoming coming season
We go for Gyokres!!!
If we want to make sure we get a player who will retain or increase his value in the future, we go for Sesco.
I think which one is chosen will tell us a lot about where the clubs priorties are!!!