Manchester United take on Arsenal in their Premier League curtain-raiser at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Ahead of the game, there has been much talk about how Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres could fare.
Sesko only joined the Red Devils from RB Leipzig last week, but he is widely expected to lead the line.
In our view, the Slovenia international could have a huge role to play in the final outcome.
Arsenal have had the league’s best defence for the past two years, but they have still been vulnerable when they have come up against strikers with pace and physical strength upfront.
Alexander Isak tormented William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes in the Carabao Cup semi-finals last term.
The Sweden international combined splendidly with Anthony Gordon in the final third, and had the better of Saliba and Gabriel with his direct running, strength and quick dribbling skills.
He scored the opening goal in the 2-0 first leg win at the Emirates and played a big part in the second. In the return leg, Isak dominated Gabriel before scoring, but VAR chalked off his goal for offside.
The 26-year-old continued to pose a threat and indirectly contributed to Jacob Murphy’s opener. Isak hit the woodwork with his effort, but Murphy was on guard to quickly score from the rebound.
United have added plenty of creativity through Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, but we believe Bruno Fernandes’ long balls could be the perfect recipe for Sesko to cause chaos upfront.
Sesko has similar traits to Isak with his aerial presence, pace and relatively good strength. He possesses good dribbling attributes. It remains to be seen whether he can make an instant impact.
The 22-year-old still needs to adapt to the higher intensity of the Premier League, but can make himself an instant fan favourite if he were to score and guide United to an opening-day win.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com