After two seasons of coming painfully close, there was a feeling among the Arsenal faithful that this year would see them finally lift the Premier League title.
Unfortunately, Mikel Arteta’s side have been beset by injuries, ill-discipline, questionable refereeing decisions and now a complete collapse in form that sees them sitting seven points off Liverpool in top-spot and 12th in the Champions League table.
It’s starting to look like it might not be their year, but given the immense talent within the team, they might just need one slight push to get things back on track.
The good news is that recent reports have once again linked the club to one of the most exciting strikers in Europe, someone who could challenge Gabriel Jesus for his place in the team, and no, it’s not Viktor Gyokeres.
Arsenal's striker search
According to a recent report from the Daily Mail’s Sami Mokbel, Arsenal are still keen on RB Leipzig’s up-and-coming striker, Benjamin Šeško.
Mokbel has revealed that despite the Slovenian marksman’s decision to remain in Germany over the summer, the Gunners are still interested in him and will be ‘monitoring his progress closely ahead of the next two transfer windows.’
The good news is that according to the journalist, the 21-year-old’s £55m release clause is supposedly still active, which would make him a more affordable option compared to the likes of Gyokeres or even Victor Osimhen, who was linked with a move to the Emirates consistently earlier this year.
It would still represent a significant investment into the team, but given Šeško’s ability and potential, one well worth making, especially as he’d be an instant upgrade on Jesus.
How Šeško compares to Jesus
So, should Arsenal splash the cash and finally secure the services of Šeško either in January or next summer, he likely wouldn’t want to come in and just sit on the bench all the time, so what we might see is Arteta alternating between him and Kai Havertz in an attempt to keep both strikers happy.
However, this prediction is made off the assumption that the Leipzig phenom would instantly jump ahead of Jesus in the pecking order, but how do the pair stack up against one another?
Well, while few would question the technical ability of the former Manchester City ace, when it comes to their raw output, which is the most important metric for a number nine, things don’t look so good.
For example, in 42 appearances last season, the 21-year-old “monster”, as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, scored 18 goals and provided two assists, equating to an average of a goal involvement once every 2.1 games.
In contrast, the Brazilian scored eight goals and provided eight assists in 36 matches – a goal involvement on average every 2.25 games.
Appearances
42
36
Goals
18
8
Assists
2
8
Goal Involvements per Match
0.47
0.44
Appearances
14
14
Goals
7
1
Assists
3
1
Goal Involvements per Match
0.71
0.14
While that doesn’t look too bad for the Gunners’ number nine, the comparison for this season is significantly more one-sided.
In his 14 games, the £55m man has scored seven goals and provided three assists, which is an average of a goal involvement every 1.4 games, whereas the São Paulo-born dynamo has only scored once and provided one assist in as many games, equating to a paltry average of a goal involvement once every seven appearances.
Ultimately, Jesus is still an undeniably talented footballer, but his dramatic collapse in goalscoring ability is a serious worry, and should Arsenal have the chance to replace him with Šeško in 2025, they should take it.
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