Price proved to be one of the determining factors behind Arsenal’s decision to favour a move for Viktor Gyökeres rather than Benjamin Šeško this summer, per a report in Germany.
The two towering strikers have long been considered to be Arsenal’s leading targets during a summer dominated by talk of a new centre-forward in north London. Šeško, the 22-year-old RB Leipzig forward, still has time to develop while Gyökeres, five years his senior, boasts a frightening goal return for Sporting CP in the unpredictable realm of the Portuguese top flight.
When it came to balancing the promise of potential and unproven prolificacy, Arsenal were swayed by the price tag of each target, Sky Germany claim.
RB Leipizg ultimately proved unwilling to budge on their demand of €100 million (£86.3 million, $117.8 million) for Šeško, who cost a quarter of that just two years ago. Reports from Portugal claim that Arsenal have managed to strike a deal worth a total of €80 million (£69.1 million, $94.2 million) for Gyökeres, with a relatively modest initial sum of €65 million (£56.1 million, $76.5 million) bolstered by the striker’s supposed willingness to give up a small proportion of his salary.
Benjamin Sesko vs. Viktor Gyokeres Stats
Stats via FBref.
Arsenal are said to have settled upon personal terms with Gyökeres and are widely reported to be on the cusp of unveiling their first permanent acquisition of an orthodox striker since Gabriel Jesus joined the club from Manchester City in 2022.
Gyökeres’s eye-watering statistics can scarcely be outdone by the best strikers in Europe, let alone the middling return Šeško was able to muster for an RB side which crashed out in the Champions League opening round and conspired to finish seventh in the Bundesliga. However, the case routinely made to discredit Gyökeres’s achievements points towards the quality of opposition offered up in Portugal’s top flight.
Sporting’s fleshy wrecking ball plundered 17 goals against the division’s bottom four clubs alone. Based upon Opta’s global power rankings, those teams were ranked outside the top 590 clubs on the planet. For perspective, third-tier English outfit Stevenage are ranked 589th by the same metric.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Report: Why Arsenal Ditched Benjamin Sesko for Viktor Gyokeres.