A lot of people were surprised when Arsenal ended up with Sporting CP star striker Viktor Gyokeres and not Manchester United, because the Red Devils were supposedly gunning the hardest for the Swedish international for months due to the Ruben Amorim connection from their time together in the Portuguese capital.
But, as it turned out, Gyokeres was not actually all that keen on working with Amorim again, and Amorim apparently was not pushing all that hard for Gyokeres to join Manchester United.
So Gyokeres ended up going to Arsenal, while Manchester United landed the young striker a lot of people thought was going to end up in North London, RB Leipzig product Benjamin Sesko.
Viktor Gyokeres is not any better than Benjamin Sesko
Though Sesko and Gyokeres have only scored four and five goals in the Premier League this season, respectively, Manchester United do not feel an ounce of regret about missing out on Gyokeres.
Head to head on Sunday in the Premier League, Manchester United outplayed Arsenal, defeating the league leaders 3-2 in yet another statement making peformance made by the Red Devils under new manager Michael Carrick.
Gyokeres had a woeful game against Man United, too, and he was one of the worst players on the pitch. His passing was inaccurate, he carried no real goal threat, and his all around game was putrid in the face of a steady Manchester United defense that already looks improved under the new manager.
While Sesko only played nine minutes, the key aspect about comparing Gyokeres and Sesko is that Gyokeres is supposed to be the one producing now. At 27, he has no real resale value in a few years, so Arsenal paid big money for him to win them the title now, which he may very well do.
And to be honest, Gyokeres has been great in the Champions League and better than what the critics will have you think. The thing is, though, this piece is about how Manchester United think.
Seeing how they shut Gyokeres down, there are no regrets to be had. Because Manchester United did not pay the raw, talented Sesko to be great now. It is easy for some people to forget, but Sesko is five years younger than Gyokeres at the age of 22.
Sesko still has a long ways to go before he is the finished product at striker, and, therefore, he has the grace to keep growing. Already, he has been about as effective and helped the overall scheme at Man United as much as you can say Gyokeres has helped Arsenal this season.
From that vantage point, Man United beating Arsenal and Gyokeres only serves to vindicate the club’s decision even more to go younger with Sesko, who has more long term upside.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.