#35 - Three alternative young strikers to Sesko Arsenal could sign
After Sesko decided to stay, I look at what young striker could Arsenal opt for in the market
The news broke last week that Benjamin Sesko had decided to stay put. Had he said yes to a move this summer, he looked destined to join Arsenal.
So what will the Gunners do now? Some reports suggest they won’t sign a centre forward at all, whilst others reckon ‘Arsenal want a young striker that they can develop.’ With that in mind, if Arsenal did sign more of a developmental striker this summer, who would be the best option?
Joshua Zirkzee
Zirkzee moved from Bayern Munich to Bologna in search of more first team football. It was a wise choice, the 23-year-old is now a star player for Bologna, who have qualified for the Europa League next season.
The young forward is great at holding up the ball and linking with his teammates. If Arsenal want another Havertz-style forward option, then Zirkzee certainly has those qualities. Like Havertz and Sesko, he’s tall, standing at 6ft 4’.
His team contributions extend into his defensive qualities, which again all rank favourably compared to his peers.
He completes 23.16 passes per 90, which is 86th percentile of all strikers and has 44.82 touches (90th percentile). He also ranks really well on key passes with 1.4 per 90 (80th percentile) and 2.81 progressive passes (83rd percentile).
Another great strength of his is his ball carrying ability. This is something Arsenal are looking for in all new signings and his 4.18 attempted take ons and 26.55 carries per 90 will have stood out to scouts. Most of his dribbling and carrying stats rank between 70-90th percentile.
Another benefit of a potential deal is that he earns just £20,000 per week at Bologna, making the total cost of any transfer much more modest.
Downsides? He’s not a lethal striker, netting just 11 goals in his 34 Serie A appearances this season, scoring at a rate of 0.36 goals per 90 over the last year. But that’s not a terrible tally and he’s still just 23. I think his finishing ability can still improve, especially because strikers of that build tend to peak a little later.
Santiago Gimenez
Gimenez, another 23-year-old, has been in lethal form this season, with a massive 0.8 non-penalty goals per 90. Of course the strength of the league he plays in (Dutch league), must be taken into account. He takes a massive 3.99 shots per 90 to generate those goals and you’d expect that to drop in a tougher league.
His passing is pretty poor, he’s much more of an old-school striker, and like Sesko doesn’t get involved in the build up much, with just 10.25 passes per 90, less than half of Zirkzee. Whilst he lacks involvement overall, he does produce good final ball with 0.23 assists per 90 and 1.1 key passes.
Like Zirzkee and many of Arsenal’s favoured options though, he does carry the ball really well too. Standing at just 6ft, he plays in a style of a player with a bigger build. 1.78 progressive carries and 1.33 carries into the final third per 90 are 80th and 86th percentile.
Brian Brobbey
Like Gimenez, Brobbey plays in the Eredivisie, and he boasts a very strong 0.89 goals or assists per 90 (95th percentile).
Brobbey is a year younger than the other two options (22), although he has already tried a move to RB Leipzig and that went poorly, only to see him return to his boyhood Ajax.
That was back in 2021/22 though, and clubs will consider Brobbey now a more mature prospect.
There’s a big discrepancy in his passing between short passes and medium and long. He appears really tidy in his short passing, but rarely attempts longer ranges (9.87 short, 3.48 medium, 0.43 long - passes per 90) - this highlights his ability for tight link up play in and around the box, but perhaps limitations contributing in build up across larger distances.
Again, the pattern with all of these targets is the players ability to carry the ball. He stands at just 5ft 11’ but like Gimenez, plays with a deceptive strength. This is illustrated by the 7.78 progressive passes her receives per 90 and tackled on just 39% of his take ons (both 93rd percentile).
Whilst he has those good physical attributes, the Dutchman doesn’t translate that into many defensive actions. Some acuse him of being a bit static in defensive transitions and that’s an area he’d have to improve should he play for this Mikel Arteta side.
When asked about a possible move to us, the striker replied: ‘Arsenal, I think that is a very nice club. If you look at that stadium. A very nice club, but that also applies to Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid.’
Given his statistics and also the fact he plays in the toughest league of the three, you can probably tell Zirkzee would be my preferred option. He’s not ready to raise the ceiling of this squad but he is a high-potential player who we can develop, whilst also improving our squad right now.
All three options wouldn’t come in and demand a starting place, but they would be upgrades on Eddie Nketiah. It’s key Arsenal find a buyer for Nketiah in order to free up funds and that squad space for any arrival up top.