Benjamin Sesko to Arsenal: Striker agent says ‘ask Mikel Arteta about that’ amid January transfer links

The striker has long been of interest to the Gunners

Benjamin Sesko’s agent has stoked reports of Arsenal interest in the striker during the January transfer window.

Arsenal are on the hunt for a new striker following Gabriel Jesus’s ACL injury, which is set to sideline him into next season.

Unsubstantiated reports emerged on Thursday that the Gunners were exploring a loan-to-buy deal for the RB Leipzig striker, though they were quickly shot down in both Germany and England.

Sesko has long been of interest to Arsenal, who remain admirers this month, and the player’s agent, Elvis Basanovic, believes his client has the ability to help Arsenal.

Asked if Sesko could play for the Gunners, Basanovic told Arena Sport: “I think you should ask Mr. Arteta about that.

“But I think Sesko could suit many clubs because he has different football skills. He can play alone in attack, with two strikers, a little further back, he has height, speed, and technical speed.

“Benjamin Sesko is really shining, I think this is a phase of development. I think we have already shown in the past that we are sticking to the development path, that we are not looking at current form.”

He added: “I don’t think Leipzig would be satisfied with any compensation at the moment, Leipzig does not want to sell Benjamin Sesko because they really value him immensely.”

Arsenal are understood to have explored signing Sesko in the summer but the striker stayed put at Leipzig, a decision Basanovic believes has paid off.

He continued: “Our decision regarding the next step, the transfer, has never and will not stem from current form, but from who can offer Sesko the best platform for his development.

“We can see that our decision was correct, six months later he is already a better striker than he was last season. What he lacks is experience. We must not forget that he is only 21 years old, so we did not want him to go to the Premier League in the summer.

“There were concrete options, but we consciously decided to stay in the Bundesliga to give him time to progress and develop into a better striker.”

When quizzed on what kind of price it would take Leipzig to consider a sale, Sesko’s representative was firm in his response, adding: “I don’t think Leipzig would be satisfied with any compensation at the moment, Leipzig does not want to sell Benjamin Sesko because they really value him immensely.”