Is Benjamin Sesko the pure '9' Arsenal need?
Stat scouting the Red Bull striker that is heavily linked with a move to Arsenal
One of the big targets this summer for Arsenal is adding fire power to the front line. There have been a number of names talked about but the current player that has bubbled to the top of the list is Benjamin Sesko from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig.
Reporting from John Cross in The Mirror suggests that with multiple teams interested in him, the player and his agent prefer Arsenal:
Benjamin Sesko favours a move to Arsenal this summer.
RB Leipzig striker Sesko is being courted by a host of clubs including Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United while there is strong interest from Italy. But Arsenal now appear to be in pole position for the £45m-rated forward as the Slovenia international prefers moving to the Emirates after finding himself at the centre of a transfer battle.
The reporting here is a bit flimsy for me, who is saying he favors the move? Is this from his agent and player? His family? His teammates? His barber? Some random dude on the internet?
That it is unsourced and just hanging out there as a statement of fact doesn’t give me the warm and fuzzies but that is what transfer reporting is all about I guess, and it is an excuse as good as any to take the opportunity to take a deep dive into his stats.
This last year was the first in one of Europe’s ‘Big Five’ leagues having moved from Red Bull Salzburg where he first broke in. His integration at Leipzig was measured, he started just 3 of Leipzig’s League matches in 2023 and not playing a single full 90 minutes in that run. After the turn of the year to 2024 he became the main striker starting 14 of 18 matches, with 4 matches where he essentially played a full 90 minutes (he had two times taken off at 89 that I am counting as a full 90 here).
Overall his first season ends up looking strong for a player of his age, he produced above average shot totals, excellent goal scoring that is backed by strong underlying numbers, looking like a promising pure goal scoring forward.
Let’s dig in and take a look at him at a deeper level.
Detailed Stats
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