Arsenal have been given hope in their pursuit of Benjamin Sesko for two clear reasons.

The RB Leipzig striker has been a long-term target for the Gunners, and talkSPORT understands that the two teams have opened talks over a deal.

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The 22-year-old has been a Red Bull prospect since 2019, initially for Salzburg and now Leipzig where he’s caught the world’s attention.

With 27 goals in 64 Bundesliga games, Sesko was first on the radar of Germany’s top clubs, but the only one who can compete with Arsenal are now out of the running.

German football expert Raphael Honigstein explained to talkSPORT’s Trans Euro Express:  “Bayern Munich were quite keen on and looked at him for a long time, especially last year.

“But they have decided that Harry Kane will still be their main centre forward with Jamal Musiala behind him.

“That makes it very difficult to fit Sesko in, unless you change the formation which Vincent Kompany has no intention of doing so.”

Kane has 62 Bundesliga goals in the time that Sesko has managed 27, and the England captain is showing no signs of slowing down in Bavaria.

On top of that, free scoring Musiala recently signed a new deal to become Bayern’s centrepiece going forward, meaning Sesko will have to look outside of Germany given their rival’s lesser finances.

That plays into Arsenal’s hands, as could the Slovenian’s contract.

“I think that [Bayern being out of the running] has cleared the path for a lot of clubs who want to sign him and Arsenal are one of those that are interested,” Honigstein continued. 

“What also makes the situation appealing is there is a release clause of some sort, I think it’s around €65million [£55m], but I don’t know how long that clause is valid.”

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The Sky Germany pundit went on to explain why teams are so fascinated by Sesko, but also offered a word of caution to Arsenal fans thinking he could be the missing piece of the puzzle.

Honigstein said: “He is someone as you’d expect attracts a huge following because of his size and pace.

“But he’s someone who still has a little bit of growing to do, in terms of his all round game.

“But he’s got huge talent and I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him in the Premier League soon.”

Sesko is a huge 6ft 5in tall, and according to the Bundesliga was the division’s 26th fastest player last season, registering a top speed of 22.17mph.

More used to the spectacular rather than the simple, Sesko caught the attention at Euro 2024 despite not scoring a single goal.

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He smashed a stunning long-range shot off the post against Serbia at the tournament in Germany, and has no issue at all finding the net from range.

Three of his 13 league goals last season were from outside the box, including a wondrous outside of the boot effort against Bayern.

However, he’s been known to find the simple slightly more difficult, missing 18 big chances over the past two seasons which is a problem for Arsenal.

The Gunners spent much of the 2024/25 campaign strikerless due to injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz, with the latter not even a centre forward.

That means a striker is their clear priority this summer, and links continue to Sporting’s free-scoring No.9 Vikor Gyokeres, but Sesko remains their priority.

Gyokeres will be saddened to hear than news, given the fact that he is prioritising Arsenal over a reunion with Ruben Amorim at Manchester United.

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Arsenal are yet to sign a player this window, although it’s understood that Kepa Arrizabalaga will soon join in a £5m deal from Chelsea to become David Raya’s backup in goal.

Elsewhere talkSPORT understands that the Gunners are genuine contenders to sign Real Madrid’s Rodrygo this summer.

Meanwhile, the club are still in limbo with Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi.

The Spanish Euro 2024 winner agreed terms over a switch to the Emirates, but recently announced that he doesn’t know where he’ll be playing next season.