04 Jun 2025 17:55:16
I'm quite unsure about the Sesko signing. 13 goals all of last season. Havertz scored 9 and was injured for half the season. I don't feel Sesko is an upgrade,
{Ed014's Note - can I take it you’d rather Viktor Gyökeres, or do you have someone else in mind.
I’m not sure about Zubimendi and would rather have Baleba. Only trouble with that would be losing him and Partey to the AFCON.
04 Jun 2025 18:08:53
I think I might prefer Gyokeres, simply based on stats. He also seems to give us something different in terms of style of play rather than what we already have in Havertz.
We need our other forward players to be registering double digits in goals. Especially from the left. If Saka stays fit, he should manage that from the right.
{Ed014's Note - I’d tend to agree with you but our links to him seem to be tenuous at best.
To be fair any links are pretty tenuous at this point, we absolutely must have targets but correctly identifying them is mission impossible.
04 Jun 2025 18:23:03
Also need Ode to get a grip and back to his old self. He was totally off the boil all season.
04 Jun 2025 18:43:20
Preferred it when sharpie was a space cadet, talking like a normal person these days and its concerning. Well apart from the fact he still thinks Partey is a good player he's normal.
04 Jun 2025 18:50:49
Portugal league isn’t great and he’s after a fortune - read his style of play may not suit us. Šeško hasn’t scored slot…better than Kai though. He’s a non starter for anyone wanting to win the league.
I’d like OSIMHEN and WATKINS - know he could be trouble but goals he can get and at good level.
Need two strikers but we are flirting with everyone and not getting any joy…. No change there ?.
04 Jun 2025 19:15:54
Gyökeres was a championship level striker before going to the Portuguese league, which isn't exactly known for good defenders. He's playing in a team that has a very different style compared to Arsenal. In terms of age these should be his peak years. He makes runs behind defences which would make him a good option in transitional moments and against high lines. But 1v1 against prem defenders, heading ability and generally speaking playing against low block defences do worry me.
In short, he would be a decent different type of striker who would be useful in certain scenarios but there would be many unknowns. Of course there are always risks when signing players though. What works against this deal as well is he would probably have a lower resale value should the deal not work.
Quickly to our current center forward Kai Havertz then. Stylistically probably a complete opposite to Gyökeres. A good false nine option (at least that's my opinion though i see a lot of differing opinions as well) who likes to drop into midfield rather than run behind defences. To me he looks more comfortable as a late box crasher rather than a traditional spearheading striker. Has good athleticism though which makes him a useful counterattacker as well.
So where does that leave Sesko then? To me he can do both what Havertz and Gyökeres do. He's an allrounder but also raw and inconsistent because of his young age. Could become one of the best strikers in the future. Probably not ready to head a title charge right now though.
I don't know if this is any useful to anyone, i'm just writing what i think these players are like. I have a feeling we will sign Sesko and personally i prefer him to Gyökeres. I quite like Havertz and i'd like to remind everyone that when he switched to center forward in the middle of 23/ 24 we were pretty much perfect in the remaining league games results-wise. I believe Kai Havertz is good enough to lead a title charge. Initially Sesko can support him and offer a different tactical option, and in a few years he can hopefully grow into one of the best strikers in his own right.
If you want to upgrade the starting lineup i think left wing is where we should focus. Rodrygo would be amazing, though it remains to be seen whether he actually wants to leave Real or not.
04 Jun 2025 22:38:47
Good analysis Ice. I am totally unsure between Sesko and Gyokeres, but I also worry if we get one of them and the other goes to one of our rivals and scores loads of goals while the man we got struggles and we suffer!
My personal preference is/ was Watkins and Muembo, both premier league proven with good finishing and offer something different to Kai. On the left we should get one of Gordon/ Ekitike/ Eze/ Rodrygo. Gittens is still young and doesn’t look like an upgrade to Martinelli.
04 Jun 2025 23:08:14
Where are you going to fit in Muembo though, Highbury? We have Saka that will start most games, and Nwaneri.
We shouldn't be worried about a player not working out. Every club has bought players that don't work out. Some more than others. We just need to bring in a player that fits that profile and then hope he's magic.
I personally feel that Sesko is too like Havertz and won't really give us that cutting edge we're looking for.
Sparks, be honest mate - we'd have finished outside of the top 4 without Partey this season. I know you secretly have a soft spot for him. You're always going on about him.
04 Jun 2025 23:36:04
Sell Kai and buy a defender who scares CDs with their pace, movement and finishing skills, Kai plays with his back to goal and doesn’t really scare anyone who is a decent centrehslf, won’t come on and change a game. He’s just not good enough as a striker - could he lace Wrights or Henry’s boots? Would City or Liverpool buy him? He’s a decent footballer but not a striker. He isn’t a menace in the box, doesn’t score from corners despite his height and doesn’t take up intelligent aggressive positions. He’s makes nice late runs but his touch and finishing isn’t strong enough for me. I may be sitting on the fence a bit with him.
I’d love to get our money back for him.
04 Jun 2025 23:48:16
Buy a striker.
05 Jun 2025 07:40:19
SY mate, the entire point of this post was to discuss a striker, and more importantly, which striker. Just saying "buy a striker" seems kind of redundant, no?
05 Jun 2025 09:14:01
All the reporting seem to suggest our striker will be Sesko or Gyökeres, but let's be clear i think there are plenty of other candidates as well.
Overall i think Gyökeres is too much of a risk. If we're willing to stick with Havertz as our main option then i think Sesko is the one to get. But if we wanted a traditional striker to hit the ground running, i would be looking at Watkins primarily and Osimhen as a secondary option.
Lautaro Martinez would probably be best overall and every once in a while i check whether there are any reports, but they always say how happy and committed he is at Inter so i've given up hoping.
05 Jun 2025 09:54:22
I was correcting my sentence above as I said defender not striker.
Agree Kai is good with back to goal and late runs but who is in the box if he’s late. He’s not a great finisher or takes us good positions or aggressive enough in the box. Like he’s scared of getting proactively into scoring positions. He’s not quick enough with the ball at his feet. When I think about what we need - I think an Anelka or Henry type player and a Pires or Overmars or Freddie on the wing. Freddie gave you the late runs into the box while we still had a striker in there with intelligent movement.
I would like WATKINS and OSIMHEN as striker options.
Left Wing is in critical need of an upgrade - Nico, Rodrygo or Eze may be.
I would like to take a leaf out of PSG and Liverpool book who play a fast counter attack, carrying the ball with speed, fast passing and first thought is I need to go forwards. That’s a change in how we’ve played and who we need. If we do that, perhaps Gyokeres will enjoy that. For me a lot depends on Arteta’s tactics. Free flowing fast football please. Eze could put the much needed pressure on Ode as he needs to sharpen up or get dropped. He needs to be able to play faster forward passes to both wings and not just his Saka triangles which are too predictable.
Agree LW is key and I want a fast proper striker who can give us something we don’t have today and make us play to his strengths while we have wingers who can also run at defenders.
05 Jun 2025 10:11:16
Highbury i hear you. But remember each team is different as are the players. If player A thrives somewhere else it doesn't necessarily mean he would have been a hit for us. All we can do now is make an informed decision and then be decisive.
I really like Mbuemo, though i'm not sure if he would be interested in joining us. Too similar to Saka maybe?
My top three for left wing are Rodrygo, Williams and Barcola.
05 Jun 2025 10:37:11
SY i get what you're saying. We need to have someone running in behind and then someone making the late run. If we buy a striker who makes that first run, then a player like Saka or Trossard would probably thrive arriving late to sweep home a cutback or a cross.
But the way i'm thinking is that it doesn't have to be the striker who makes that first run. In this team i think it could be Martinelli. If Havertz drops deep it creates space to exploit and i hope to see our wingers beginning to fill that space more. Saka can do that as well or maybe even Rice.
I agree i want to see an increase in tempo and more direct attacking, especially through the middle. Replacing Partey with a more suitable pivot (Zubimendi, Wharton would be my choices) would hopefully help. That could also mean Odegaard can stay further forward, which in turn should help him bring his goal contributions to previous levels.
05 Jun 2025 13:07:33
I see what you say but how often do they take a central role? I get nervous about how narrow we also make the pitch plus I really want all 3 to know that when they get the ball they carry it forward or lay off with going forward in mind. Midfield try to play faster balls down the channel to use our pace. PSG showed us what we are missing in style and substance. We play a Man City style without the top tier players they had. Ode isn’t KDB and Kai isn’t close to any City player. We need a rethink and decide do we play to win or not to lose.
Midfield and Ode need to pass faster and infront of player? Don’t receive ball facing our goal…I want the striker decision to tie into that and the Lw
Ode being more up front as you say makes sense - better balance in midfield is a must and I don’t believe Kali or Merino are it.
05 Jun 2025 16:44:30
I understand if we sign a player and it doesn’t work but the feeling is very different if we are linked to two and sign the wrong one (well it doesn’t work out but the other works out for the rival) :)
We could use Mbuemo centrally as a target man to bully defenders and make space for others in the opposition box.