SESKO SAYSNO

RB LEIPZIG STRIKER STAYING PUT FOR NOW

You can never say never in football – you can also never put all your pennies on Arsenal getting their first choice summer transfer target.

It might be a stretch to say Benjamin Sesko was our number 1 choice, but big name journo’s said he was, and he certainly fit the profile. Young, raw, under £50m, extremely high ceiling.

Well, his name is now DIRT to me as he has signed a new deal with RB Leipzig on improved terms. The story last week that he had said yes to Arsenal was premature; it might have also been a plant by his agents to get a better deal in Germany. Whatever it was, Tall Boy Summer™️ is off to a bad start in 2024.

Arsenal fans move from WOULD LOVE to NEVER LIKED THAT SLAG ANYWAY at lightspeed. I don’t think I’m there; the player has an electric profile and would have given us something very interesting as a player firmly in the development stage.

But… we have to accept that the offer Arsenal is putting forward this summer isn’t a main man offer. We’re asking someone to risk minutes to join an extremely good squad of players that is on the cusp of greatness. Kai Havertz, as it stands, is the main man. He’s a Champions League-winning player top coaches have called technically perfect and likened to Dimitar Berbatov, Bergkamp, and Robin Van Persie.

Sesko has just turned 21 years old. He’s not benching Kai Havertz for a while, and his agents might have felt another season of 3000 minutes might get him to a bigger deal when he eventually leaves… and if he can get those minutes on £100k a week versus £20k a week, it’ll be more lucrative as well. There’s a lot of sense in staying, and there’s a lot of wisdom in moving only when you know you’re going to be the main man™️.

This deal probably worked for Leipzig as well. £45m for a player with that much upside wasn’t game-changing. I suspect now they know the player is going to the top, they’ve added a more resolute release clause that’ll activate closer to £65m.

Benjamin Sesko represents a familiar pattern with Arsenal: We don’t often get our first choice summer option, but we always make it out of the summer with something better.

• Lisandro Martinez

• Dusan Vlahovic

• Emi Buendia

• Houssem Aouar

• Caicedo

• Mudryk

There are other striking options in the market that would do a job for us, and here’s the thing, if the right option isn’t there this summer, we’ll pass and go again next season.

I could envisage an outcome where maybe we spend more money on a wide option that boasts mega output.

Summer transfer windows are fluid, complex and messy. When you have a good scouting department and top-level analysts, there will always be alternatives. The main challenge with this current squad is the market for players that can make us better is narrowing. Bernd Leno was replaced by Aaron Ramsdale. Ramsdale was replaced by David Raya. Emile Smith Rowe, a total starboy, was replaced by Odegaard, then Fabio Vieira. Gabriel Jesus was the man who was going to take us to the next level, and he was replaced by Kai Havertz.

We are at a stunning level these days, which means the market is smaller, and the consequences of failing are more extreme. This summer is about building out the trusted players, adding more quality, and increasing the unpredictability in the starting 11.

It’s a big job – if Sesko didn’t fancy it, then we’ll find someone who does.

So tell me – who is on your list now there’s a new opening? x