It is a big summer for RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko with a potential transfer to Arsenal in the pipeline. The Gunners are in need of a new striker and sporting director Andrea Berta will be hoping to deliver one to Mikel Arteta sooner rather than later.
In the search for a proven goalscorer, it looks to be one of Sesko or Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres who will make the move to the Emirates Stadium ahead of the new season. In terms of Sesko, the RB Leipzig enjoyed an impressive 2024/25 campaign where he registered 21 goals and six assists in 45 appearances in all competitions.
Sesko was linked with a big-money move to Arsenal 12 months ago but a switch to north London never came to fruition for the Slovenian international. According to reports, RB Leipzig want a deal worth between £68.4million and £85.5million if they are to part with their star man.
Arteta really could do with Berta getting a deal over the line for Sesko ahead of the team’s pre-season campaign. The Gunners are set to jet off to Singapore midway through July for games against AC Milan and Newcastle United, before finishing their tour of Asia with a North London Derby showdown against Tottenham in Hong Kong.
Sesko joining Arsenal ahead of pre-season would be hugely beneficial as it would give him a good period of time to adjust to Arteta’s ways, get to know his new teammates and put him in a good position to hit the ground running. That really is vital considering Arsenal have Manchester United, Leeds United, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Newcastle United in their opening six Premier League fixtures of the new season.
Amid all the current uncertainty over whether it will be Sesko or Gyokeres who leads the line for Arsenal from August onwards, the former’s pre-season schedule with RB Leipzig is already set in stone. The Bundesliga team will return to their Cottaweg training ground on Friday, July 11 for obligatory performance tests, with the first training session taking place three days later on Monday, July 14.
Leipzig’s first pre-season game comes five days later as they make the trip to bluechip-ARENA to face Regionalliga side ZFC Meuselwitz. At a time when Arsenal are in Singapore and Hong Kong for pre-season, RB Leipzig will stay in Germany and head to Donauschingen for a week-long training camp.
A second friendly of the summer will be played during that week, with the opponent and kick-off time still to be confirmed. Ahead of the new Bundesliga season commencing, the German side have further friendlies against Atalanta and RC Lens to come in August and they also have SV Sandhausen to play away from home in the first round of the DFB-Pokal a week before the league campaign gets underway on the weekend of August 22-24.
With the possibility of an Arsenal transfer on the horizon, the last thing Sesko will want is to either see a move drag on until the end of the transfer window or pick up an issue that could scupper a deal. Arsenal are in desperate need of a new striker and all connected with the club will be hoping it doesn’t rumble on too much longer at a time when Liverpool and Manchester City are making big transfer moves of their own.
