Highlights
- Benjamin Sesko is one of the best young strikers in Europe and Arsenal have been linked with his services.
- Sesko scored in a seventh successive Bundesliga game on the final day of the season, rifling home a rocket from 20 yards out.
- Arsenal’s two current strikers, Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah, are not dependable goal-scorers and have been on the periphery of Mikel Arteta’s team in the title run-in.
It says a lot about Arsenal’s quality that they have scored so freely throughout the season despite lacking a proven goalscorer. Going into the final weekend of the campaign, the Gunners had scored 89 goals in the Premier League, with only Manchester City having found the net on more occasions.
The Gunners signed Gabriel Jesus from Arsenal in 2022 but the same issue that held him back at City – the lack of a real ruthless streak in front of goal – has seen Mikel Arteta drop him in favour of Kai Havertz in recent weeks. Jesus has scored just four Premier League goals all season, while Eddie Nketiah, the other ‘specialist’ striker in Arsenal’s squad, has managed just one more, leading to uncertainty over the futures of both.
Thankfully for Arteta, Arsenal have found goals from other sources. Bukayo Saka is their top scorer in all competitions with 20 goals, Leandro Trossard has 17, Kai Havertz has silenced the doubters with 13, and Martin Odegaard is also in double figures with 11 goals to his name.
However, should Arsenal miss out on the title this season, the very few weaknesses in the squad will inevitably be analysed to death – and their lack of an out-and-out, prolific striker to add a different dimension to their attack is undoubtedly one of them.
Could defeats by West Ham, Fulham and Aston Villa have been turned into draws, or even victories, if Arteta had a reliable marksman to call upon and give the attack a different dimension? Perhaps he will have exactly that next season, with a new striker expected to be their priority in the summer transfer window.
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Sesko Scores Stunner for Leipzig
20-year-old caps brilliant first season in Bundesliga
One of the strikers who they have been linked with is RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, per The Telegraph, and the 20-year-old showed why he is tipped for a great future in the game with a brilliant goal in their final Bundesliga match of the season away to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Leipzig were winning 1-0 at half-time and Sesko doubled their lead just 45 seconds into the second half, collecting the ball from Nicolas Seiwald 30 yards out, taking a couple of touches and then lashing a powerful drive into the top of the net from just outside the penalty area.
Sesko wheeled away in celebration after his goal and he was followed by his teammates who were equally delighted after seeing the youngster net such a remarkable strike. Frustratingly for Leipzig, they ended up surrendering their two-goal lead and drawing the match, but thankfully they had already guaranteed a fourth-place finish and qualification for the Champions League.
Sesko has been in remarkable form in recent weeks, netting in seven consecutive Bundesliga games, and ended the campaign with 14 goals in the German top flight and 18 in all competitions, underlining why he is viewed as such a prodigious talent.
The Slovenian, who has already made 27 appearances for his country, scoring 11 times, joined RB Salzburg in 2019. He spent two seasons on loan at Austrian second-division side FC Liefering before breaking into the Salzburg team in 2021, scoring 11 goals in his first proper season there before 18 strikes followed in 2022-23, earning him a move to fellow Red Bull club Leipzig.
Sesko started the 2023-24 season slowly, largely figuring as a substitute for his new club and scoring just three Bundesliga goals between the start of the campaign and the end of January. He has really clicked into gear in 2024, though, netting 11 times in 16 league appearances to end the campaign.
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Benjamin Sesko’s RB Leipzig statistics 2023-24 (all competitions) |
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|---|---|
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Appearances |
42 |
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Goals |
18 |
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Assists |
2 |
Sesko vs Haaland
Youngster has been likened to City superstar
Comparisons have been made between Sesko and Erling Haaland given their large frames, electrifying pace and goal-scoring prowess, and Sesko is following a similar career path to Manchester City’s goal-scoring machine, getting his first big break with RB Salzburg before moving to Germany and also proving himself there.
“Such comparisons motivate me and give me energy,” Sesko previously said of being likened to Haaland. “They do not represent pressure. I will listen and learn so I can be even better than he is. My teammates at the club tell me that Haaland and I are very similar, especially in terms of speed.”
“Most of them even tell me that I’m better than him!”
Clearly, Sesko has work to do to get to Haaland’s level and replicate the Norwegian’s achievements, and perhaps he will be handed the platform to do exactly that at the Emirates next season. Judging off his remarkable end-of-season form, Arsenal fans will certainly hope that is the case.
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