Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak is Mikel Arteta’s ideal type of forward signing, but Arsenal could move for RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko instead next summer.

James McNicholas reports for The Athletic that in an ideal world, Mikel Arteta would love to sign a forward exactly like Alexander Isak.

McNicholas highlights the Newcastle United forward’s athleticism, intelligence, versatility, and Premier League experience as reasons why, before adding that the major issue for such a deal is the cost.

Newcastle are desperate to hold onto Isak, so they’ll hold out for a fee that Arsenal are unlikely to be willing to pay.

Reports earlier this week suggested Arsenal were monitoring Isak’s situation, with contract talks between the player and his current club now on hold after little recent progress.

Isak’s camp weren’t keen to extend his contract at Newcastle without Champions League football. If they fail to qualify this season, sources believe they’ll seek a move.

But Isak still has a deal until 2028, and the report added that much will depend on who succeeds Edu Gaspar as Arsenal’s sporting director.

Arsenal will want to have some alternatives in mind, and on that note McNicholas mentions RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko as one of a number of other attacking targets.

Arsenal were interested in Sesko last summer, and they’re likely to be in for him again if he’s available in 2025, according to the claims.

Sesko has his double figures for goal contributions for RB Leipzig this season, so it’s been a solid start so far. But his goalscoring in league fixtures has been patchy at best, so he’ll want that to pick up to keep the likes of Arsenal chasing him.