Opinion

Benjamin Sesko is slowly proving Josh Kroenke right after Andrea Berta transfer disagreement

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It was rumoured in the summer that Josh Kroenke wanted to sign Benjamin Sesko at Arsenal, but Andrea Berta sided with the Viktor Gyokeres transfer.

For all of the negative discourse, Gyokeres is close to matching Didier Drogba’s first-season tally in England.

That being said, it can’t be argued that the Swede isn’t the finished article, which only makes Sesko’s building form all the more frustrating.

During the summer transfer window, Berta preferred to sign Gyokeres over Sesko due to his belief that the former Sporting CP man had more potential to hit the ground running.

The vote in Gyokeres’ favour was not unanimous, as Josh Kroenke wanted Arsenal to sign Sesko.

Now that Sesko is popping up with important goals for Manchester United regularly, it would be fascinating to learn what Kroenke has been thinking.

Were Arsenal right to sign Viktor Gyokeres instead of Benjamin Sesko?

Benjamin Sesko’s form is proving Arsenal’s transfer call wrong

Gyokeres has scored more goals than Sesko so far this season, but with six goals in his last seven Premier League matches, the Slovenian can’t escape the headlines.

It’s still very early into both players’ Premier League careers; however, there is one element to Sesko’s profile that must have Kroenke wondering what Berta was thinking to go for Gyokeres instead.

Sesko not only looks like a better fit for Premier League football than Gyokeres, but is also five years younger than the Arsenal man.

The Man United striker has an incredibly high ceiling, which we are seeing in his vastly improved performances.

Having seen both strikers in the Premier League, who would you sign for Arsenal now: Benjamin Sesko or Viktor Gyokeres?

A split image graphic of Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres.
Credit: Getty Images/Visionhaus/Molly Darlington/Copa

While Sesko is improving in all areas of his game to become a star under Michael Carrick, Gyokeres has improved on the goals front, but still has frailties that are a hindrance to Arsenal’s attack.

The biggest issue Arsenal have with Gyokeres is his duel-winning underperformance, a metric that Sesko is improving in.

Gyokeres’ duels won average in the Premier League is just 32%, whereas Sesko’s has risen to 40%.

Arsenal desperately need to see an improvement from their striker in that department, just as United are with their summer signing.

Sesko’s sudden form doesn’t mean to say that hope should be lost in Gyokeres, but it has to be wondered if, when looking at long-term plans, the Sweden international was the right choice over Sesko.