Benjamin Sesko was starting to find his feet at Man Utd but Michael Carrick took the brave call to leave him out against Manchester City last weekend.
Benjamin Sesko
Benjamin Sesko has been in good form for United recently(Image: )
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Of all the positive decisions Michael Carrick made at Manchester United last week, one might not have been so comfortable for the head coach or the player involved. It has been a week of talk about the winners under Carrick, but after coming to life under Darren Fletcher, Benjamin Sesko was reduced to a watching brief.
The Slovenian scored three goals in two games in Fletcher's brief caretaker spell and looked reinvigorated by the Scot. He took him to one side on his first day in the job and gave him a confidence-boosting rundown of why he was doing all the right things at United.
Keep making those runs and the goals will come was the message, and they came immediately. Sesko produced his best performance for the club in scoring twice at Burnley and netted again in the FA Cup defeat to Brighton. But Carrick opted for a more fluid attack against Manchester City and the circumstances of the game meant the £73.7million striker wasn't needed at all.
Carrick wrapped an arm around the 22-year-old at the final whistle at Old Trafford, conscious that the delirium being felt on the pitch and in the stands may not have been matched by Sesko. It might prove to be an astute bit of man-management, given it will be two weeks since Sesko last kicked a ball when United travel to Arsenal on Sunday.
If Carrick sticks with Bryan Mbeumo as more of a false nine against Arsenal's physical defence, then Sesko could be on the bench once again. But that doesn't mean United have any doubts about the player they signed after the Gunners turned their attentions elsewhere.
Arsenal conducted extensive due diligence on Sesko before switching tack to sign Viktor Gyokeres in the summer. The Swede was a hit under Ruben Amorim in Portugal and a reunion at Old Trafford had briefly looked on the cards.
In a season that has been difficult for No. 9s across the Premier League, neither player has hit the ground running. Sesko's four Premier League goals are coming at one every 260 minutes, and Gyokeres' five at one every 270 minutes.
Arsenal can comfort themselves with the fact they are still top of the league, but their £63.5million striker is 27 and should be in his prime. United paid £10million more for one that is 22 and whose best years are ahead of him.
That will be comforting as Sesko looks to move on from his early months under Amorim. He was one of the players that Amorim criticised in his media duties, admitting he was "struggling" and calling him a "control freak". Sesko looked to be freed by Fletcher, but Carrick risked undoing that by benching him.
The 44-year-old is confident no momentum has been lost and even if he hasn't seen him in competitive action yet, he is impressed by what he is seeing at Carrington and convinced United have a striker who can succeed long-term.
"I think he's in a good place," said Carrick. "He's trained really well. Obviously, we're working with him and keep trying to improve him as much as possible.
"I've been really impressed, to be honest, the way he's trained and his finishing and the way he's gone about it. I don't see it as anything other than pushing on and using what he's just done over the last month or so as a stepping stone to be here and successful for a long time."
Sesko's finishes at Turf Moor were evidence of how good he can be in front of goal, but he is a classical No. 9 when Carrick opted for more fluidity against City. Given the size of Arsenal's defence, the ploy might be similar at the Emirates.
"I think Bryan [had] a bit of a free role in many ways in a partnership with Bruno last week to drift and to fill different spaces," he said.
"I think Ben's very good at playing on the last line and runs in behind. I think we've seen that over recent weeks, and he's done great to get his goals, so he's in a good place. Josh [Zirkzee] can do a little bit of both and plays in drifts and plays in the hole and links. He's very good at bringing other people into play. Just different styles.
"I think certain games will suit different styles. It's great to have that flexibility for sure. Matheus (Cunha) came on through the middle and made a big difference for us in terms of carrying the game into the later stages and creating a second goal. We've got good options through there and we just felt last week that was the way to go and it paid off for us."
On the opening weekend of the season, Gyokeres produced a disappointing 60 minutes at Old Trafford. Sesko only entered the fray five minutes later. Neither striker has kicked on since then, but United have youth on their side and if Sesko does get his chance this weekend, he will be desperate to maintain the form he was starting to produce earlier this month.
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