Arsenal given fresh Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko transfer verdict ahead of summer call

The debate as to whether Arsenal should sign Viktor Gyokeres or Benjamin Sesko continues to rage among supporters.

Gyokeres for example has a rather ridiculous goal contribution rate where in more than 100 matches in the last two seasons, he has a better than one-in-one for goals and assists combined per match. Despite this record, his doubters are quick to point out he’s producing these figures in the Portuguese league for a team that has won the title both times.

Whereas Sesko, whose numbers are not at the same level as the Swede, is playing in a tougher league for a side in RB Leipzig who rank incredibly low for creativity and chance creation. Sesko is also younger but has still delivered numbers exceeding his non-penalty expected goals showcasing his finishing abilities that a club like Arsenal crave.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

We discussed the pair in detail at football.london before the end of the season, outlining more traits of the two forwards.

The results are in, and of close to 2500 readers who voted, we can reveal that a huge 67% voted in favour of Gyokeres. 28% voted for Sesko with 5% voting for neither and instead wanting a different player.

This means more than 1600 of the voters were in favour of the Swede. It is easy to see why. The raw goalscoring numbers that Gyokeres is producing means that for a club like Arsenal, that clearly need someone who can put the ball in the back of the net, why not take the plunge on Europe’s most prolific from the last two seasons.

At the same time, of the close to 700 of those who voted for Sesko, myself included, I can see the reasons why. I believe the risk with Gyokeres is greater.

His age, turning 27 this summer, and the considerably larger step up to the Premier League makes me worried. It is impossible not to look at previous top scorers in the division like Darwin Nunez and Carlos Vinicius who made the same switch and struggled.

Others like Bas Dost, Jonas and Jackson Martinez who hit over 20 goals, more than 30 in the case of the former pair, either made switches to other, tougher European leagues or came from tougher divisions first to see their numbers fall or rise respectively. The Brazilian striker Jonas for example was hitting 10 to 13 goals per season before his switch to Benfica where his numbers sky-rocketed.

The same happened to Dost after leaving Wolfsburg for Sporting CP where his numbers shot up, before returning to Germany with Frankfurt only to produce a fraction of the same number of goals. Jackson Martinez, linked with a move to Arsenal while with Porto, scored 67 league goals in 90 games in Portugal before moving to Atletico Madrid where he scored two in 15 before cashing in with a move to China.

He would play 16 times in three seasons after suffering ankle problems, scoring four times. Of course there is no guarantee the cycle will repeat for Gyokeres, in fact none of the players discussed managed 39 league goals like the 26-year-old has this season – perhaps things will be different.