Both Manchester United and Arsenal have signed star strikers this summer in Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres.
The Red Devils will face the Gunners in their opening Premier League clash on Sunday afternoon, and the big storyline going into the game is the new strikers on either side.
Manchester United signed Benjamin Sesko for £66m, weeks after he was initially linked with a move to Arsenal.
Sesko has already impressed at United, and will expect to make his debut at Old Trafford against Mikel Arteta’s side.
Meanwhile, United were keen on Viktor Gyokeres to reunite him with Ruben Amorim this summer, but he ended up making a £55m move to Arsenal instead.
Benjamin Sesko Manchester United Training Session
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Gary Neville’s expectations for Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko
Both Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko arrive at their respective clubs expected to fire them to success in the Premier League in their debut seasons.
Rio Ferdinand wants Sesko to score 10-15 goals as his target this season, and it seems fellow United legend Gary Neville agrees.
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Speaking on The Overlap podcast, Neville said: “I think if those three [Mbeumo, Sesko & Cunha] could get 35 between them, 40 would be unbelievable.
“If you said to me that Benjamin Sesko gets 13 goals in his first season, and the others get 10 or 12, I’d take that now – that’s a good first season.
“Gyokeres is a bit further on in his career I think. I think if Sesko scores 10 and the others [Mbeumo and Cunha] chip in, I still think that is a massive result.
“I said 15 is a good result for Gyokeres, and the reason I say that is because Arsenal will create so many more chances and have such a better team. He is in a better team at Arsenal.
“Sesko will not get as many chances as Gyokeres.”
Clearly Neville feels as though Gyokeres could outscore Sesko this season, and they will both get their first chance to open their tally on Sunday.
Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres go head-to-head
It has not yet been confirmed that United’s star Slovenian will start against Arsenal, but a behind-closed-doors friendly was arranged to give him some minutes with his teammates ahead of Sunday’s match.
Last time Sesko and Gyokeres faced each other, both strikers found the net for RB Leipzig and Sporting respectively.
Unlike Sesko, Gyokeres has featured in Arsenal’s pre-season plans and scored one goal for the Gunners over the summer. He will head into Sunday having had more time to settle in.
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After seeing him score, Arteta warned United about Gyokeres, suggesting he will “destroy” defenders if left one-vs-one.
Thankfully, Amorim will know Gyokeres well from their time together in Portugal, and hopefully, United’s head coach knows how to keep him quiet.