Arteta needs a centre-forward this summer, but cost, style and age need to be taken into consideration. We weigh up five contenders.
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Benjamin Sesko, RB Leipzig, 21
Sesko, like Gyokeres, boasts the height (
1.95m, 6ft 4in) and physicality to thrive at the highest level. The
21-year-old can take players on and beat them at pace, with his close control in transition standing out.
This season has been tricky due to Leipzig’s struggles — they sit sixth in the league and recently sacked manager Marco Rose.
Sesko’s involvement in build-up play has increased as a result. This could prove valuable for his development in the future, but
his passing, while encouraging, is a work in progress (67 per cent accuracy in league action).
He has
managed 14 goals in 34 matches across the league and Champions League, but Sesko
has been forced to attempt more shots from outside the box (34 per cent of total shots compared to 11 per cent last season), and his
overall finishing has been erratic due to his reliance on power over precision and placement.
Alexander Isak, Newcastle United, 25
Gyokeres’ Sweden team-mate is
equally good at creating chances for himself through clever positioning and runs in behind. Isak is a
fantastic dribbler and able presser to boot, with a willingness to drop deep too.
As the graph below shows, Isak
is hitting heights he has not managed before, significantly overperforming expectations.
The only concerns surrounding Isak are his injury record and the financial side. Newcastle have no intention of selling their star forward so it would take an extraordinary fee for them to contemplate a sale.
His all-round play is reminiscent of what Jesus first brought to Arsenal in 2022, while his 6ft 4in height (
1.92m) throws back to Arsenal strikers at the start of the 2000s.
Matheus Cunha, Wolverhampton Wanderers, 25
Cunha
plays his best football as a false nine. He remains
Wolves’ primary source of goals with 13 in the Premier League this season, but as the graph below shows, he is
heavily involved in the moments leading to those strikes too.
Cunha
thrives in dropping deep — sometimes all the way into his own half — and initiating moves like the one below against Southampton from last November.