Why Arsenal should sign Viktor Gyokeres over Benjamin Sesko

Liam Williams Published: 02 Jun 25 15:03

Over the last few years, Arsenal have made a number of shrewd moves in the transfer market that has got them challenging for the biggest trophies once more.

Combined with Mikel Arteta’s coaching to develop the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard, Arsenal are a side contending for major honours once again, but for all the positive steps they’ve made, they’re still waiting on a goalscorer.

Their top Premier League goalscorer this season was Kai Havertz, who finished on nine. The year before was Saka on 16 and the year before was Odegaard and Martinelli who both scored 14.

While the Gunners do have goals in their squad, they don’t have a reliable number nine and it’s been their undoing all too often. They didn’t miss out on a place in the UEFA Champions League final because they couldn’t create chances; it was because they could finish them.

While a much needed controlling midfielder will arrive in Martin Zubimendi, the club will make a new centre forward their top priority.

In Viktor Gyokeres, Arsenal have a ready-made solution to their problems. The deal seems to have been lined up for months, with Sporting CP allowing their star striker to leave for a very reasonable £55m, yet the Gunners are still deliberating about which direction they’re going to go in, with Benjamin Sesko now looking like the number one target.

It’s not particularly reassuring that a club who’ve known what they need for three years still don’t seem convinced by which direction to go in; it’s even less reassuring that Arsenal are willing to take a punt on someone whose best days are likely still a few years away when they desperately need someone who can make an immediate impact.

The biggest concerns around Gyokeres appear to be that he’ll be 27 at the start of June and that in moving from the Primeira Liga, there’s a degree of uncertainty around his suitability for the Premier League, but the Swede could have done no more to prove his goalscoring prowess than he did last season.

Aside from the obscene 39 league goals he scored and seven assists he laid on, he also netted six in eight UEFA Champions League games, including the hat-trick against Manchester City.

Of the two, Sesko is undoubtedly the more aesthetically pleasing. Despite his frame, he can caress the ball in tight spaces just as well as he can unleash long-range howitzers, while Gyokeres is more of the rampaging bull type, albeit one who still finds the net with remarkable regularity.

Statistically, however, one stands miles clear of the other. In terms of shots, expected goals, assists, carries and key passes, Gyokeres trumps Sesko on all. Frankly, for the sum being quoted, Sesko’s numbers are rather ordinary. He’s not a prolific goalscorer, he doesn’t get into the best shooting positions and he’s creative numbers are disappointing.

	Gyokeres	Sesko
Shots	3.9	2.5
Non-penalty xG	0.69	0.32
Non-penalty goals	0.82	0.42
Carries into penalty box	3.11	0.53
xA	0.22	0.06
Key passes	1.96	0.72

stats from fbref.com; all stats per 90.

It’s natural to expect some drop-off if Gyokeres makes the move from Portugal to the Premier League, but even if his goal tally is chopped in half, he’s still a huge improvement on Arsenal’s current goalscoring options, while Sesko needs to improve on what we’ve seen if he’s to take Arsenal to the next level.

That’s not to say Sesko couldn’t contribute significantly to Arteta’s side. In his young career, he’s shown glimpses of elite potential and appears to have a very high ceiling.

His ball-striking is remarkable and he may already be one of the best headers of a ball in world football. His pace makes him a dangerous option for Arsenal’s counter-attacks, but that rawness to Sesko means he wouldn’t be a guaranteed starter in every game, with Arteta likely easing him into the Premier League.

Arsenal’s focus has to be on the here and now. This isn’t the time to make investments on potential; they need the finished article to take them to the next level.

Wherever he ends up, Gyokeres will score goals; Arsenal are gambling that Sesko can do the same.