Arsenal’s search for a new striker could possibly soon come to a conclusion with Benjamin Sesko of RB Leipzig making the move to London. The Slovenian has made quite the name for himself in Germany after notching 39 goals in 87 appearances since moving from Red Bull Salzburg.
Coming to the attention of Arsenal in the process, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has stated the north London club have opened “concrete talks” with RB Leipzig over their player. Arsenal will have to pay out some serious money to get their man, with the Bundesliga club believed to want £92.5million for the 21-year-old.
If indeed the Radece-born player does make the move to the Emirates Stadium this summer, the Gunners will have their fingers crossed that he is a game-changing signing in their quest to win the Premier League title. The club’s lack of that proven goalscorer up front has proved costly in recent seasons with Arsenal unable to make the final step and get their hands on the Premier League title.
Sesko is not the only striker to have been linked with Mikel Arteta’s side as Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres has also dominated the headlines due to his incredible goalscoring record in Portugal. So what exactly will Arsenal be getting in Sesko? football.london takes a look at what those who know him best have said about the hotshot.
RB Leipzig teammate Yussuf Poulsen
“As a striker, he’s the best I’ve played with,” the Dane told TNT Sports. “If you look at his abilities, he has everything a top No.9 needs. He’s still young, he still needs to learn, not the technical things about being a striker but maybe more the finesse side.
“He has everything, strength shooting, technique, everything. I like working with him and I’m trying to get him there – he’ll go on and score a lot of goals for us and some point go to the club he’ll love to play for.”
Jurgen Klopp, Red Bull’s Head of Global Soccer
“My plans with him are that he scores more goals like he scored on Sunday. That was a really good one,” said Klopp after Sesko scored against Werder Bremen in January. “I was pretty impressed, he played a good game. He’s a good player anyway.
“I’ve actually known him for a while, I knew him already when he was at Salzburg. I think we played a friendly game here when he was very, very young. I was really impressed, I thought, ‘Where do they get all these players?’, ridiculous.”
He added: “I have no plans with him, just to make that clear. Don’t get it wrong, I will not show up in training and tell them what to do. Our plan, and I don’t have to ask Marco Rose what his plan is with him [Sesko], I know it… he wants to help him score as many goals as possible.
“He has space for improvement, space for development, incredible skillset, incredible potential so I’m happy that we have him.”
RB Leipzig teammate David Raum
“I have a special project—I work a lot and talk with this guy. That’s Benjamin Sesko. He doesn’t even realize how good he is. He’s an incredible player,” said Raum.
“Next year [2025], he’ll dominate the Bundesliga. I truly believe that. Once he realizes his potential, he’ll be unstoppable. Even though he’s young, he’s already achieved so much. He has insane skills – technique, speed, and physical strength.”
Former RB Leipzig technical director Christopher Vivell
“Benjamin Sesko is among the game’s top young talents and has enormous potential to become a top player,” outlined Vivell. “He has all the qualities to do that. He’s extremely quick, has a great jump on him and is strong in the air.
“Benjamin is a real goalscorer, who despite his 1.95m (6ft 4ins) is mobile and technically strong. His abilities make him a special player with a special profile.”
Former RB Leipzig head coach Marco Rose
“Benjamin Sesko has really earned his current position, I’m happy with his development,” he said. “We know why we brought him in. Young players like him sometimes just need time to arrive and show themselves.
“He is currently developing step by step and his latest progress in particular has been very big. He is strong in the air, has great technique and is good in one-on-one situations. The challenge for him now is to stick with this development and move on.”
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