Viktor Gyokeres vs Benjamin Sesko: From Rocky Starts to 2026 Promise

In a summer when most of the Premier League’s top clubs scoured the market for a new striker, Manchester United and Arsenal landed Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres, respectively.

United, aiming to recover from a disappointing 15th-place finish, turned to Sesko following his 21-goal haul in 45 appearances for Leipzig across all competitions.

Arsenal, meanwhile, identified Gyokeres as the man to finally push them over the line, after finishing as Premier League runners-up for three straight seasons.

Now sitting first and fourth in the Premier League table, both Arsenal and United have made significant strides compared to their 2024-25 campaigns—but those improvements have come largely in spite of, rather than thanks to, their new centre-forwards.

Still, the clubs could really do with their big-money acquisitions firing on all cylinders, and they have reason to be optimistic about that, given their form so far in 2026.

Sesko has scored four goals in six matches since the turn of the year, while Gyokeres has four goals and two assists over his last six appearances.

In an alternate universe, Sesko could be leading the line for Arsenal and Gyokeres for United, but based on their performances since arriving in England, which club has secured the better deal?

For strikers, goals are the primary metric, and Gyokeres leads Sesko 11-6. However, a closer look at the numbers reveals their finishing prowess is more evenly matched than the raw totals suggest.

Gyokeres averages 0.50 goals per 90 minutes (0.42 excluding penalties) with an underperformance of -1.45 (goals minus expected goals). Sesko, meanwhile, averages 0.43 goals per 90 with an underperformance of -0.62.

Gyokeres has faced criticism at Arsenal for not generating quality chances at a consistent rate—his shots on target per 90 stand at 1.01, more than half a shot fewer than Sesko’s 1.60 per 90.

Averaging one and two assists respectively, neither Sesko nor Gyokeres have done particularly well at setting up teammates to score, although the Slovenian trails his Swedish counterpart in both chances created per 90 (0.87-0.58) and big chances created per 90 (0.14-0).

Given the physical nature of English football, a striker’s ability to win duels is also important, and Gyokeres significantly pales in comparison to Sesko.

Gyokeres has won just 33.3% of his total duels (30.3% for aerial duels), while Sesko has a 40.11% duel success rate and 50.5% for aerial battles.

All in all, both strikers still have another level to reach if they are to be judged a true success at their new clubs.

With Arsenal chasing a historic quadruple and United pushing for a return to the Champions League, the spotlight will only intensify.

*All stats are from FotMob