Arsenal is considering a £ 70 million movement for Benjamin Sesko this summer, but what makes the RB Leipzig striker so attractive?
The 22-year-old is a long-term objective for Arsenal and Sky in Germany that there have already been conversations between the two clubs about the finances of a potential transfer.
Sesko has scored 39 goals in 87 games for RB Leipzig since he came to Red Bull Salzburg two years ago, but what qualities would he bring to Arsenal? And could he really be the next Erling Haaland?
Haaland-like speed and shape
His scoring record is modest compared to, but Sesko is a rare breed of Spits with a similar physical profile like Haaland. At 6ft 4 in it is exactly the same height and equally fast.
His shape enables him to play the role of a Targetman, keep the ball up, bring teammates into the game and offer an outlet valve for long passes, crosses and deliveries in the play.
Arsenal of course already has a player who can fulfill that role in Kai Havertz, but the attraction of Sesko lies in the fact that, like Haaland, he combines that qualities with an explosive pace.
Last season in the Bundesliga, Sesko's top speed of 35.69 km/h set him 26th of 492 players to appear in the competition. He ranked even higher in the previous campaign, on the 15th.
Havertz has many strengths, but pace is not one of them. His top speed last season was much lower than Seskos at 33.42 km/h, making it 212nd under 574 Premier League players.
Only Gabriel Martinelli has clocked a higher top speed in the past term than Sesko among Arsenal players. The figures emphasize both Sesko's pace and the need for more of it in the Arsenal attack.
Rapid threat
The speed of Sesko can stretch the defense and destabilize. It is also a devastating weapon during the break and at transitions, something that he has demonstrated in Germany during his time.
RB Leipzig is known as one of the most effective counter-falling teams in the Land-Hun total of 17 counter-spotlights Since the beginning of last season, the second highest under Bundesliga sides, behind only Eintracht Frankfurt and Sesko has been a large part of it.
His total of five fast goals in the last two Bundesliga seasons place him third in the division, behind his RB Leipzig teammate Lois Openda and former Eintracht Frankfurt Voorar Marmoush, who each scored six.
The most recent example of Sesko came during a 3-3 draw with Bayern Munich in May, when he took away from Eric Dier to lock an Xavi Simons-Pass and send an excellent, first finish past stranded goalkeeper Jonas Urbig of long distance.
The ball saw that attack within a few seconds from the edge of the RB Leipzig box to the back of the Bayern Munich –Net Travel and it was made possible by Sesko, whose speed and ruthless efficiency in a similar style could be used by Mikel Arteta in Arsenal.
Arsenal is of course not a counter -attacking team in the same way as RB Leipzig. But Arteta has gradually emphasized rapid breaks in the course of his term of office.
Last season Arsenal scored more fast goals than in one of the previous four seasons under Arteta, their total of nine she only placed behind Liverpool and Tottenham in the Premier League. They also registered their highest totals for shots and expected goals of fast breaks under Arteta.
The addition of Sesko could accelerate that evolution against attracting counterattacks and it is worth mentioning that it is not only in open spaces that he can wear the ball on the field.
Unusual for a player of his shape, Sesko is also an accomplished dribbler with the technical skill to beat defenders in tight spaces before accelerating to the goal.
His average of 1.46 successful recording per 90 minutes was in fact the highest of every out-and-out striker in the Bundesliga last season, which emphasized a different area.
Ball-bowing sparkle
Sesko's score fee dropped somewhat when RB Leipzig went through a bad campaign in the last term, but his preference for the spectacular remains, largely thanks to his excellent bullet capacity.
That opening goal against Bayern Munich in May, curled around Urbig with the help of the outside of his boot from 40 meters, was one of the four that he scored from outside the box in the Bundesliga since the beginning of last season. Only a handful of players have scored more.
Even less can claim to have found the net from a distance with the same level of cruelty.
Sesko is able to generate amazing power with his shots, as the most memorable seen with his stinging strike against Werder Bremen in January, shot in the upper corner from 25 meters. Later it was revealed that the ball had traveled at a speed of 126.43 km/h.
Arsenal has a number of clean strikers of the ball in Bukayo Saka, Ethan Nwaneri and Declan Rice, but none of Sesko's Ilk under their options at number 9 in Havertz and the wounded Gabriel Jesus.
Sesko's goal against Werder Bremen, such as five months later against Bayern, was hit with his stronger right foot, but he can also collect similar power with his weaker foot.
For Slovenia in a Nations League match against Sweden in September 2022, he scored a sensational, left-foot volley that attracted comparisons with Marco van Basten.
The willingness of Sesko to shoot from unlikely corners and unlikely positions can be frustrating on the other side. His average of 0.15 expected goals per shot last season was considerably lower than those of Haaland or Havertz, respectively at 0.21 and 0.22. His chances were of relatively low quality, in other words.
It is also worth noting that he has performed considerably too much compared to his expected goals at RB Leipzig and scored 27 times in the Bundesliga from just 17.7 xg. The figures raise questions about whether his score rate is sustainable.
At the same time, however, knowing what he is able to easily see the logic behind his ambitious shot choices. And given the tendency of Arsenal to leave the shooting opportunities to try to walk the ball in the net, a bit of directness for goal may not be a bad thing.
Air deepness and a jump in basketball style
Another of the biggest features of Sesko is his wonderful leap.
He was a promising basketball player in his teenage years and the agility on the field can now be seen in the way he challenges headers and high balls on the field.
In combination with his height, it gives him a lead in the opposition box, as he see when he jumped above the vast hand of Eintracht Frankfurt's Kevin Trapp to go home a rebound before the goalkeeper could reach it during a 2-1 victory in December.
That goal was one of the eight Sesko scored with his head over the last two Bundesliga seasons. It is the fourth highest total in the competition behind Harry Kane, Serhou Guirassy and Tim Kleindienst, and underlines the size of his aerial photo.
It is undoubtedly another part of his appeal to Arsenal, because they strive to further increase their potential of set pieces. They have scored more non-Penalty Set-piece goals than any other Premier League side in the past three seasons, with 54.
Adding the towering figure of Sesko to the mix would give their opponents even more worries to worry about.
Still raw but with a huge potential
Sesko is not yet the completed article that only became at the end of May 22. Some elements of his game are still raw. His goals usually come in bursts instead of consistently.
But his age ensures that, if Arsenal follows their interest and signs him, there is still time for Arteta and his staff to refine his game and form him in the striker they need.
His potential is huge. He does not have the same productive scoring record as Haaland when he made the switch from Germany to England. He had scored 86 goals in 89 games for Borussia Dortmund, while Sesko scored 39 goals in 87 games for RB Leipzig.
But the parallels in style are clear and they have even followed similar routes, with Sesko effectively being brought in as a replacement of Haaland at the former club Red Bull Salzburg.
It is also worth noting that Sesko has already collected considerable experience, made more than 250 performances for Club and Land, with at Champions League level, and the achievement of double digits for goals in five consecutive campaigns.
He did all that, while he avoids serious damage to the injury. That sustainability is another factor in his favor and another source of encouragement for voorags such as Arsenal.
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