'Recent contact': Arsenal have begun talks to sign £55m striker who is keen to play for Arteta - journalist

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Since Gabriel Jesus' injury, Arsenal's discourse on adding a new striker in January has seemingly changed quite dramatically.

Now, Mikel Arteta is quite openly talking about the transfer market and Arsenal's desire to strengthen their squad.

With the Gunners still hoping to compete for the Premier League title and also go one better in Europe, it would seem naive to rely on Kai Havertz as the only available striker.

Havertz has been brilliant for Arsenal at times, particularly in the Champions League, but Arteta simply needs more than one striker.

Before Jesus' injury, it was widely-regarded that Arsenal would wait until the summer to either test Newcastle United's position on Alexander Isak or alternatively try and sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig.

And fortunately for Arsenal fans, it seems as if the club are trying to bring those latter plans forward.

Arsenal have started to make their move for Benjamin Sesko

According to journalist Ben Jacobs, who shared his update on X, Arsenal have now made 'recent contact' with Leipzig in regard to the availability of Sesko.

Sesko rejected Arsenal last summer in favour of continuing his development in the Bundesliga.

READ MORE: Arsenal should use Jakub Kiwior in a clever swap deal to sign £67m striker

However, it seems as if Arsenal will now try to convince the Slovenian forward once again, who has scored 13 goals in 25 games this season.

Taking to X, Jacobs shared: "Arsenal have made recent contact with Leipzig over Benjamin Sesko, who remains a strong 2025 target.

"AFC reigniting 2024 interest. Mid-season move still complicated, even with Leipzig knocked out of the UCL.

"Sesko’s agent has made it clear no loan in January."

Despite holding off on a move to the Premier League last summer as mentioned, Sesko is keen to play for Arsenal according to reports, a striker who caught the attention of many top clubs across Europe.

Jurgen Klopp could stop Arsenal from signing Benjamin Sesko

Of course, it should be remembered that Jurgen Klopp is now heading up operations at Leipzig, overseeing the club's plans.

Therefore, Klopp could have a say in stopping Arsenal from strengthening in January if he decides that it's not the right time to sell Sesko, something that would definitely please Liverpool fans.

Arsenal have continued to scout Sesko even after he vetoed a move last summer, demonstrating that Arteta hasn't been put off.

And if the Gunners were able to bring the deal forward six-months, it would certainly be a significant coup.

As mentioned, those attempts will be 'complicated', but there's currently no reason to suggest that they'll be impossible just yet, even if they may end up paying more than his £55m release clause last summer.