In early 2025, Manchester United suddenly received information that the signing of Benjamin Sesko could be completed soon. This is surprising because in more than a year before that, almost everyone believed that the Slovenian striker would join Arsenal.
Reality turned to a different direction. Arsenal decided to put their trust in Viktor Gyokeres, while Sesko arrived at Old Trafford. But just a few months later, both deals have not brought the expected effect.
Gyokeres' beautiful goal against Inter Milan was once considered a turning point, but Gabriel Jesus's double and revived form once again made Arsenal's center forward position a big question mark. In the opposite direction, Sesko also struggled to adapt to Man United's system during the instability period.
From being expected to be a solution for the attack, both Sesko and Gyokeres are facing the risk of not playing regularly in major matches.
The main reason is still goal efficiency. But they are not an isolated case.
This season witnessed a clear trend when most expensive striker contracts are facing difficulties. Except for Hugo Ekitike of Liverpool with 8 goals, the remaining names such as Gyokeres, Sesko, Liam Delap or Alexander Isak all have modest achievements.
The total number of goals scored by the 4 strikers mentioned above combined does not even surpass Erling Haaland - who scored 20 goals alone. That difference shows that the Premier League is still heavily dependent on individual differences.
More notably, the total cost to recruit Sesko, Gyokeres, Delap and Isak is up to about 345 million pounds. On average, each goal of this group costs nearly 17 million pounds - a figure that clearly reflects the inflation of the transfer market.
However, it is impossible to equate all cases. Delap and Isak are heavily affected by injuries, Sesko is only 22 years old and is adapting to the new environment, while Gyokeres has to face a major leap in competition intensity when leaving the Portuguese league.
Those difficulties partly reflect the reality when the role of number 9 striker is changing. In modern pressing systems, the center forward is no longer simply the final finisher. They have to press, make walls, move and participate in building the playing style.
Meanwhile, youth academies have not kept up with this change, causing European football to seriously lack true penalty area killers.
Sesko is a typical example. When Man United brought the ball to his feet - like in the draw with Burnley, where he scored a double - efficiency immediately appeared. This shows that the problem is not entirely in the players, but in the way the system works around them.
At Arsenal, Gyokeres also faces a similar problem. Mikel Arteta appreciates the pressing ability and physique of the Swedish striker, but there are still concerns about confidence, ball-keeping ability and the tendency to penetrate the penalty area.
The biggest difference lies in age. Gyokeres is 27 years old, while Sesko is only 22 and still has room for development. This factor makes Man United believe that they have invested in the future, even if it has not yet brought immediate results.
Finally, the problem is not that Sesko or Gyokeres are better, but in a simple reality. That is that strikers like Haaland are extremely rare.
If Arsenal had owned such a player, they might have far surpassed the rest of the Premier League. But the past summer showed that the transfer market does not have many options at that level.
And perhaps, it would not be too surprising if this weekend, both Sesko and Gyokeres were on the bench - as a miniature image of the modern striker crisis of European football.
