Arsenal came agonisingly close to lifting the Premier League title for the second year running this season, losing out to Manchester City on the final day of the campaign.
However, there is no time to mourn what could have been for Mikel Arteta, Edu Gaspar, and the club's recruitment team, as they now have to turn their attention to the transfer window, which is just around the corner.
The Gunners produced the best defence in the league this year but scored five fewer goals than the Sky Blues, so it's not all that surprising that the latest player touted for a move to N5 operates at the sharp end of the pitch. Interestingly, he has been compared to a former Arsenal striker, Alexandre Lacazette.
Arsenal's striker search
According to a recent report from Dean Jones via GIVEMESPORT, Arsenal are still interested in RB Leipzig's star striker, Benjamin Šeško, ahead of the summer transfer window.
The journalist revealed that, alongside the Gunners, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are both keen on signing the Slovenian international, although the former poses the biggest threat to the North Londoners.
The report claims that the Premier League runners-up value the Bundesliga striker at around £45m, but other outlets claim the 21-year-old has a €65m – £55m – release clause in his contract, suggesting that there is some room to make up on Arsenal's side.
It looks like it might be a tough deal to get over the line with Chelsea now firmly in the mix, but based on his performances this year, it might be worth pursuing.
How Šeško compares to Lacazette
So, it's quite the comparison to make, but it hasn't come out of nowhere. In fact, it comes from FBref, which looks at all the players in Europe's top five leagues and then creates a list of the ten most similar players for each one based on their positions. In Šeško's case, Lacazette is considered to be the ninth most similar striker over the last 365 days.
Now, as the Leipzig "monster", as dubbed by data analyst Ben Mattinson, is 21 and 6 foot 5, while the Lyon star is 33 and 5 foot 9, their similarity doesn't stem from physical attributes. Instead, it stems from their underlying numbers.
For example, the pair produce an identical expected goal and assists figure, score a similar number of goals, provide a similar number of assists, and are incredibly similar in a number of other metrics such as progressive passes received, shot and goal-creating actions, tackles, shots on target, live passes, and successful take-ons, all per 90.
Expected Goals + Assists
0.52
0.52
Goals
0.82
0.75
Assists
0.12
0.08
Progressive Passes Received
5.76
5.65
Shots on Target
1.47
1.30
Live Passes
18.6
20.2
Shot-Creating Actions
2.06
2.20
Goal-Creating Actions
0.47
0.35
Tackles
0.76
0.75
Successful Take-ons
1.00
0.86
However, it's not just their underlying numbers that are similar, as the pair have both been on fire for their respective teams this year.
In just 35 games this season, the former Arsenal striker scored 22 goals and provided five assists, whereas the 28-capped Slovenian racked up 18 goals and two assists in 42 games for Leipzig in what was his first season for a club in Europe's top five leagues.
Appearances
42
35
Goals
18
22
Assists
2
5
Goal Involvements per Match
0.47
0.77
Ultimately, when looking at their underlying numbers and raw output from last year, it's easy to see why FBref considers them to be similar players.
However, while Lacazette is approaching the end of his career, Šeško is just starting his, and with how well he's performed this year, it would be hard to disagree with Mattinson's assertion that his "instincts are next level."
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Therefore, while securing his signature with Chelsea and PSG in the picture might be challenging, Edu and Co must do what they can to bring the exciting 21-year-old to North London this summer, as he could be the difference-maker next season and a brilliant first signing of the summer.
