Arsenal has advanced significantly throughout Mikel Arteta’s nearly five-year tenure.

From midtable filler, the North Londoners have developed into one of the strongest teams in the world, if not England.

But it’s not just the Spaniard’s strategies and influence that have contributed; he has also brought in a number of extremely excellent players, like Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, and even the much-maligned Kai Havertz.

The German has established himself as a vital member of the Gunners’ first squad, but the player the club was keenly interested in over the summer is currently outscoring him.

Havertz’s most recent performance

It’s no secret that Havertz found it difficult to contribute to Arsenal for the majority of the previous campaign; although he was showing up for matches and occasionally showing himself to be somewhat useful, he wasn’t making a lasting impression on the club as a left-eight.

However, in early February, Arteta decided to move the German international from midfield to the centre-forward position, and to say he has been effective in his new role would be a colossal understatement.

For example, in the 32 games he played as a recognised midfielder, the former Chelsea ace racked up a lacklustre haul of six goals and no assists, but in the 18 games he played as a striker, the 25-year-old scored eight goals and provided seven assists, equating to a practically world-class average of a goal involvement once every 1.20 games.

The Aachen-born poacher has been a serious goal danger this season, netting five goals and dishing out one assist in just nine games (748 minutes), or one goal per 124 minutes. So, it wasn’t simply a one-time run of excellent form.

That is an excellent rate of return, especially in light of the opponents the Gunners have faced and the fact that they have lost a man twice.

Having said that, the team was keen to add a different promising striker in the summer, and given that he is currently outscoring Havertz, Arteta and company might make another move for him the next season.

Benjamin Sesko is of interest to Arsenal.

Yes, Arsenal showed a great deal of interest in Benjamin Sesko, the top striker for RB Leipzig, who is currently in form.

For instance, this June report from the Guardian claims that the Gunners and their cross-town rivals Chelsea were ready to activate the Slovenian’s €65 million (£55 million) release clause. However, the player chose to sign a new contract with the German team in order to continue his development away from the Premier League’s spotlight.

The 21-year-old poacher will, regrettably, be much more expensive to sign for the North Londoners next year as a result of this new agreement. Marco Guidi of La Gazzetta dello Sport speculates that, depending on his performance this season, the price in the summer “will not go below 70-80 million,” which is between £59 million and £67 million. Given his recent form, we’d venture a guess that it will be closer to the latter.

For instance, in his eight Leipzig appearances this season, the six foot five “monster,” as statistical analyst Ben Mattinson termed him, has contributed three assists in addition to six goals, for an average of one goal per 0.88 games.

While that is an improvement above the Gunners’ number 29, we also need to consider the overall calibre of the league and the lessened pressure of representing the East German team. The Slovenian striker appears to be well on his way to becoming a famous striker despite this.

Ultimately, Arsenal are lucky to have a player as talented as Havertz in their team at the moment, but given the form of Sesko, it might still be worth chasing him again in the summer, as having both in the squad would make the Gunners one of the most dangerous teams in Europe.