Arsenal could sign the perfect Nketiah upgrade in “prolific” 6 ft 4 gem

Arsenal are enjoying another brilliant campaign this season as they battle it out for the Premier League title and prepare for their Champions League round of 16 tie against FC Porto in the new year.

Mikel Arteta’s men have built their current success around a resilient defence and steely midfield, although the one area of the team that hasn’t been quite as good as last season is attack.

Gabriel Jesus is unquestionably the side’s starting number nine, but the backup, Eddie Nketiah, has left a lot to be desired when he has played and is perhaps a player that can be replaced.

That seems to be a sentiment shared by the club, as the latest player touted for a move to the Emirates looks to be the perfect upgrade on the Englishman, Benjamin Šeško.

Arsenal transfer news – Benjamin Šeško

According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, Arsenal are keen on signing a new striker in 2024, and one that has caught their attention is RB Leipzig frontman, Šeško.

The Slovenian international is a player whom the Gunners have a lot of ‘admiration’ for, although they aren’t the only ones; according to the Manchester Evening News, Manchester United were also keen on the exciting youngster in the summer of 2022.

However, instead of joining the Red Devils in 2022, Šeško opted to remain at RB Salzburg for another season before moving to RB Leipzig a year later for around €24m – about £21m.

His recent arrival and burgeoning talent means that any deal will likely cost the Gunners an arm and a leg, but with football talent scout Jacek Kulig hailing the youngster a “future icon”, it would probably be worth it.

Benjamin Šeško would be an upgrade on Eddie Nketiah

If Arsenal were to go out and sign Šeško, it would be unlikely that the Slovenian would come in and replace Jesus, as the Brazilian has proven his worth to Arteta as more than simply a goalscorer.

Nketiah, on the other hand, has not, and with FBref considering him the second most similar player in Europe’s top five leagues to the 20-year-old, he’d likely lose out.

However, how do the pair actually compare under the hood? Does the “prolific” Leipzig man, as described by Jacek Kulig, produce numbers impressive enough to oust the Gunners’ number 14?

Well, in short, yes, yes, he does.

The 6 foot 4 “machine”, as described by U23 scout Antonio Mango, outperforms the Arsenal man in almost every metric, including non-penalty expected goals and assists, progressive carries, shot-creating actions and many others.

Moreover, he is strides ahead of Nketiah when it comes to successful take-ons, aerial duels, and shots on target, pointing to a player who could potentially be the complete package were he given a chance at a club like Arsenal.

Ultimately, Nketiah isn’t a bad player; in fact, he’s clearly very talented, but so far, he hasn’t quite been a difference-maker for Arsenal, whereas a player like Šeško could be.