Arsenal receive Benjamin Sesko transfer message from RB Leipzig
Today at 02:27 AM
Arsenal have been urged to forget about signing RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko in the January transfer window.
The Gunners remain keen to add more firepower to their squad having changed their recruitment plans in light of the season ending injury sustained by Gabriel Jesus.
Earlier this month Arsenal had intended to bolster their squad with a loan signing, but the Jesus blow has forced a rethink.
Alexander Isak is high on Mikel Arteta’s wanted list but Newcastle will not sell their prize asset for anything less than £150million.
Sesko is also a primary target for the Gunners who laid the groundwork for his signing last summer before the Slovenia international opted to sign a new deal with Leipzig.
The 21-year-old is understood to have an agreement that he can leave in the summer should his current club receive an offer in the region of £60m but Arsenal are increasingly minded to test the waters now given their current predicament.
Sesko scored last night in Leipzig’s 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League, ahead of which his manager Marco Rose insisted his star man isn’t for sale.
Asked by Sky Germany if it remains the case that Sesko is definitely not allowed to leave this month, the club's head coach said: ‘Yes, that's still the case!’
Arsenal also retain an interest in Matheus Cunha but will face competition from the likes of Nottingham Forest, Chelsea and Spurs to sign the in-form Wolves forward.
Despite their lack of attacking options, Arsenal moved a step closer to sealing automatic qualification for the next round of the Champions League with a routine 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb last night.
The much maligned Kai Havertz was on target for the second game in a row, taking his tally for the campaign to 14 in all competitions which means he has now already matched last season’s total.
‘What do you think about it?’ asked Arteta when it was put to him that Havertz now effectively has half a season to beat last year’s goals haul.
‘Brilliant. It shows the perspective against the reality sometimes, that's what it shows you know, good stat.’
Arteta, meanwhile, was delighted to see midfielders Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard on the scoresheet last night.
The England midfielder scored his first Champions League goal with a crisp volley after just two minutes to set the tone for a dominant display, while Odegaard iced the cake with his first strike from open play during an injury hit season.
‘We know that and we know in the last two seasons when we scored that many goals, how we shared those goals,’ said Arteta. ‘You could guess by the reaction of Martin how much that goal meant to him. So hopefully now we go and that's going to happen very often.’
On Rice’s performance he added: ‘His intent, his purpose, especially attacking the positions he is taking and how he’s driving with the ball.
‘There is another bite to his game and today he could have scored two goal.’
‘In the last few weeks he had some big, big open chances to score to affect the game, so overall, I’m very happy because we need to affect the game from those positions and he's certainly capable of doing that.’
