Arsenal should prioritise a deal for Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres over RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko during the summer transfer window, Gunners legend Ray Parlour believes.
The first summer transfer window has now opened, but Gooners are still patiently playing the waiting game, as Mikel Arteta and Andrea Berta decide whether to go all out for the Swede or the Slovenian ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.
Concrete talks are believed to be underway with Sesko's camp, although the former Red Bull Salzburg striker could prove a little more expensive than Gyokeres at around £75m.
Meanwhile, Berta is known to be a huge admirer of Gyokeres, and Arsenal received a significant boost in their pursuit of the former Coventry City man on Sunday, as the sporting director of another European giant confirmed his side were not in the running.
Speaking exclusively to Sports Mole, Parlour gave the Sporting man his blessing and expressed optimism that a deal would materialise soon, saying: "Gyokeres for me is the number one choice.
"With the new sporting director in place, I don't expect it to be long before Arsenal make their move with a striker and then look to fill the remaining positions in recruitment of new players.
"Some players will leave, but the striker is now a priority, and I'm excited to see who Arsenal choose and then for them to settle in well and start scoring."
Comparing Gyokeres and Sesko's key statistics in the 2024-25 season
© Imago
When it comes to a striker's bread and butter - putting the ball in the back of the net - there is only one clear winner between Gyokeres and Sesko, as the former scored treble the number of league goals in 2024-25.
Gyokeres managed an astounding 39 Primeira Liga strikes last season, while Sesko bagged a respectable 13 of his own in the Bundesliga, although he did play 405 fewer minutes; the equivalent of four-and-a-half games.
While Gyokeres scored three times the amount of goals that Sesko managed in league action, the Scandinavian also registered double the amount of shots per game with 4.2 compared to 2.1.
Furthermore, Gyokeres conjured up two more assists than his younger counterpart, although he was guilty of poor control more often, registering 2.8 unsuccessful touches per game compared to Sesko's two.
However, the 6ft 5in Sesko unsurprisingly trumps the 6ft 2in Gyokeres when it comes to aerial duels won, prevailing in 2.1 battles per game in the Bundesliga last season compared to Gyokeres's 1.1.
There is also the argument that Sesko is over four years younger than Gyokeres and could blossom into an even fiercer marksman under Arteta, and Arsenal have been warned that they could risk another Alexander Isak-type situation by choosing Gyokeres over the Leipzig man.
With so many pros and cons to weigh up on both sides, Arsenal can be forgiven for taking their time with such a critical decision, but take too much time and they risk missing the boat entirely.
Ray Parlour was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of NetBet Online Casino.
Ben Knapton
