A number of candidates are being monitored but the Gunners are very keen on one option in particular and have been pressing ahead with conversations. Leipzig star Sesko is seen as a player who fits the system perfectly and will be available in the summer of 2025.
The 21-year-old is enticed by the opportunity to play under Arteta. He has been impressed by how the manager has turned the likes of Bukayo Saka and William Saliba into elite stars and wants to follow in their footsteps.
The player’s agents have visited both the Emirates and Old Trafford in recent months. Conversations have been held with Arsenal and Man Utd officials to discuss the conditions of a potential transfer.
TEAMtalk understands that German giants Bayern Munich hold strong interest in the Slovenia ace, too. However, in good news for the likes of Arsenal and Man Utd, Sesko is reluctant to join Bayern as he would end up playing second fiddle to Harry Kane.
The England captain will not be replaced in the Bayern starting eleven as he has been on fire since swapping Tottenham Hotspur for Bavaria in August 2023.
Sesko was the subject of intense speculation for all of the recent summer transfer window. But the rising star – who has netted six goals in nine matches so far this term – decided to remain with Leipzig as he felt it was best for his development, and all possibility of a move in the summer was therefore put on the back burner.
Sesko’s decision to stay earned him a new contract which increased his salary significantly, and also removed a release clause of €65million (£55.3m, $70.8m) from his deal. There is another release clause in his new deal, and he also has a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ with Leipzig that could allow him to leave the club in 2025.
Sesko to kickstart Arsenal striker overhaul
On Tuesday, it emerged that Arsenal are involved in a ‘significant’ push to bring Sesko to North London, and TEAMtalk can confirm that he has leapfrogged other strikers such as Viktor Gyokeres and Jonathan David on Arteta’s wish list.
Kai Havertz has been in fantastic form in the early parts of the campaign, having found the back of the net six times in just 10 matches so far. But the German is expected to face new competition for the centre-forward spot next summer as Arsenal prepare for Sesko’s potential arrival.
Arteta has made sure to stress that backup striker Gabriel Jesus still has a role to play for the side, even though he has fallen behind Havertz in the pecking order.
However, it is hard to see Jesus getting much game time if Arteta can rely on both Sesko and Havertz up front.
Arsenal news: David update, keeper exclusive
As mentioned previously, Lille attacker David is on Arsenal’s list of options, should they miss out on other players such as Sesko and Gyokeres.
The Canadian is not chasing big money, either. He would rather join a manager he respects at a club that already has a successful project on the go, Romano states.
Arsenal had hoped to sign Tickle from Wigan Athletic in the summer, but reports at the time claimed that he rejected Arteta’s side in order to continue his development in League One.
The decision has worked, as the 22-year-old has kept seven clean sheets in 10 league matches this season to enhance his reputation as one of the best young English shot-stoppers around.
Arsenal are still scouting Tickle and could return for him in 2025, though Man Utd are also in the frame to complete a deal of their own.
PROFILE: Benjamin Sesko
Ever since his breakthrough campaign with Red Bull Salzburg in the 2021-22 season, Sesko has been compared with Erling Haaland.
The two players briefly crossed paths at the Austrian side and Sesko shares the Manchester City superstar’s imposing size at 6ft 5ins, powerful shot – although he is right-footed – and eye for goal.
But the 21-year-old Slovenia striker prefers to model his game on another towering continental goal machine.
“Zlatan Ibrahimovic was my idol,” he told The Guardian in 2023. “I’m not saying I play like him but he was having fun, enjoying himself on the pitch, doing what he wanted to do. It makes me really happy when I see that kind of player. Every single video I could find, I was looking at him.”
While Sesko might not possess the same degree of deft skill as the ponytailed former AC Milan, Barcelona and Manchester United star, he does have a delicate touch for a player of his size and a Zlatan-esque penchant for a spectacular strike from range.
Sesko joined RB Leipzig for €24m (£20m) in the summer of 2023 and, after a solid if unspectacular first half of his debut Bundesliga season, he hit an electric patch of form to close out the campaign, scoring in seven consecutive games to take his tally for the term to 18 goals and two assists in 42 appearances.
At international level, Sesko was Slovenia’s top scorer in qualifying for Euro 2024 and led his nation to the last 16 of the tournament in Germany, where they were beaten on penalties by Germany.
In September, he scored his first senior international hat-trick, netting a treble in a 3-0 Nations League victory over Kazakhstan, bringing his return for Slovenia to an impressive 15 goals from 35 caps.
And after ending speculation over his future this summer by extending his contract with RB Leipzig, he opened his Champions League account for the 2024-25 season in a 2-1 loss to Atletico Madrid.
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