Arsenal were dealt a blow in the early stages of the summer transfer window, with Benjamin Sesko deciding that he wanted to stay at RB Leipzig and extend his contract with the Bundesliga side.
Benjamin Sesko was a standout performer in the second-half of last season, with the Slovenian somewhat mirroring Kai Havertz by enjoying a prolific run in front of goal.
Arsenal were eyeing Sesko as they looked to strengthen their striker options in this window, with Havertz’s form perhaps taking some pressure off Mikel Arteta, and giving the Gunners the option to target a younger striker with plenty of room to improve further.
And it seemed that the 21-year-old was high on the list on the Gunners’ wishlist heading into this window, with rival clubs believing that Arsenal were on pole position to sign Sesko this summer.
Arsenal to continue monitoring Benjamin Sesko despite transfer setback
However, Sesko decided that he would be better off, remaining with Leipzig and has extended his contract. David Ornstein suggested that Sesko’s new deal is not thought to include a release clause, but rather there will be a gentlemen’s agreement about the future fee which clubs can pay for his signature.
And speaking on his YouTube channel, Charles Watts has now suggested that he believes that Arsenal will continue to keep Sesko on their radar despite his decision.
“Lots of groundwork had been done, not just by Arsenal, but other clubs who were interested in him. Offers were ready to go, but no-one was going to trigger that release clause unless they knew that he wanted to leave Leipzig so everyone was waiting on that decision,” he said.
“And because that decision was to stay, no-one triggered that release clause, so although it didn’t feel like a deal was very close, had he said, just before the Euros, ‘I want to go’ then everything would have sprung into action pretty quickly.
“I don’t think it was over-exaggerated at all, Arsenal were very much in for Benjamin Sesko, and I don’t think that interest is going to go anywhere either. I think they’ll continue to be interested in Benjamin Sesko.”
Mikel Arteta and Edu face a dilemma as striker opts to stay put
It will be interesting to see where Arsenal go from here, because Havertz’s form did indeed give Arteta a potential option to stick with the striker options he does have.
It would be a risk, given that Havertz can seemingly go through these lengthy runs of form where he does little of note. And the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah were not exactly prolific this past season.
But if Arsenal are convinced that Sesko is the right player for them, then it may not make a lot of sense to Arteta and Edu if they target another number nine in this window.
There are some brilliant names around right now, but most of them are surely only going to move for eye-watering fees.
Sesko’s age may have made him a more appealing option for the Gunners this summer, and Arsenal have been left with a tricky decision ahead of what appears to be a vital season in Arteta’s tenure.