It was a good, long read and thanks for sharing.
But I also do agree with KSE that his writeup was a bit tainted by his bias, but funnily not for Sesko, it was the extreme Havertz loving that made me wonder if I should take this guy seriously, if he's an Arsenal fan and really meant what he wrote.
To be clear, he suggested that Havertz is the superior player to both Sesko and Gyokeres and he kept on working on the assumption that Havertz would play a key role in the team and the other striker would be secondary....which by now you should know I (and a lot of others) find laughable.
Also for your point on the metrics, I think both you and KSE got your reading of it wrong. The pie charts cleary showed that Gyokeres was the superior player on a head to head in the 3 categories he used when compared to the likes of Sesko, Ekitike, Samu and Watkins. Only Isak and Alvarez compared favourably with Gyokeres in any of the categories.
He obviously ignored the stats to push his preference for Sesko, however we all do so, especially if we are convinced we've seen something that other people or stats may not be able to discern. Probably that Pinock test, as he feels Sesko scores highly in it.
For those who can't be bothered to read it , he feels we should consider how well our striker would be able to bully and standup to EPL defenders when it come to physicality, which is where he beleieves Sesko excels by his mere presence. Really his Pinnock test is just code to hide he's a Haaland fanboy.
Now at a point I also felt, like Arteta clearly does, that having tall athletic players that can win duels would tremendously help our team. But funnily, it's the author's crush, Havertz, that has kind of revealed that it isn't really as key as I thought, especially for a striker.
Now think about it. Most of the time when the ball is played to Havertz, he wins the first ball. Aerially or on the ground, Havertz usually gets a touch and I'm sure will beat almost all the strikers mentioned for the touches he takes on the ball when it's actually played to him. However if the defender happens to beat him, he tries harder than other players to win it back immediately. This is the clear skillset where Havertz excels compared to most players in general IMO.
The thing is, what does he do with the ball once he's won it? I recall the usual tame shot or clumsy touches that ensure the defender has the chance to win it back from him again. The 2 previous scenarios are things I tend to look past, but what really irks me with Havertz is when he does the 3rd thing (which as far as I'm concerned is the most damaging), which is to try and play in someone else or hold the ball long enough to play in someone else. This pisses me off royally and is the main reason I wonder how anyone who watches football properly would consider Havertz as being a proper long term alternative as your no 9.
Which finally leads me to something that IMO should be the most telling quality of whatever striker we get.....and I'll use another member of our team to illustrate this.
Saka is our most dangerous player and goal threat. He doesn't have the typical physique to pass the Pinock test but holds himself well in duels with defenders, who usually double up on him. The thing is, how many times has Saka got into the box and we shouted "you shouldn't have done that Saka"....and I mean the 3 previous things I mentioned regarding Havertz...if Saka takes a shot, it because a shot was on. If Saka tries to dribble or beat his man, it usually because he had to. If Saka holds on to the ball and delays shooting, trying to play someone in, it's because he clearly sees a player is in a more advantageous position to score....Saka never plays people in for the sake of playing people in, if he smells blood, he goes for the kill. His decision making abilities, especially on whether to hit the kill switch or not, are exceptional and usually above reproach.
This is something so many of our attackers suffer from, poor decisions in the last third.....just picture all those moments of Odegaard dithering or taking to many touches when he should be hitting the ball instinctively. While Martnelli and the previous version of Trossard share that ability to smell blood and ignore others when they see minute openings....they both aren't as good as Saka in execution or when it comes to realising sometimes that minute opening might be better served holding the ball just a little longer to play someone coming in because they are in a better position and actually likely to score.
So in short, what I am saying is our striker needs to quickly learn to instinctively make the right decisions. His shots might be tame, his dribble forced, but it should be clear that these actions were above reproach, literally the only sensible thing he could do in that instance. If he makes a hurried shot it because he knows there is no one coming to help him, which is something Havertz needs to learn is applicable to us 80% of the time . Jesus knows this but he ends up always trying to score the most intricate and beautiful goals. Our no 9 needs to recognise, that with the way we play, he is no Clark Kent, he is the Superman of the story and there are no members of the JL coming to bail him out or put the ball in the net.
This is what 100% convinces me about Gyokeres when you see him play, he understands the burden he is under in Sporting and carries it without thinking twice. His decision making is impressive from what I've seen and I believe his vast experience has probably helped mould him into this.
Unfortunately Sesko has never carried any team single handedly, neither his club side nor his national side. Though I rate him as the better all round talent, he is another WIP (his pie chart screams this) and it makes little sense to go for him because you are looking for a playground bully which EPL defenders have already adapted too and is now " sooo last season" (in my best sorority voice
)
The solution is staring us right in the face and IMO we don't need to complicate things by thinking long term when we can just go for it now. Sesko is a project that we can't afford to entertain at the moment, mainly because we've been dilly dallying on the cusp for ages.
Originally Posted by 21_GOONER_SALUTE
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