Newly-signed Manchester United striker Benjamin Sesko is ready to play but it is too early to say if he will start when the club kick off their Premier League campaign against Arsenal on Sunday, United manager Ruben Amorim said.
Slovenia’s Sesko joined United from RB Leipzig last weekend for a transfer fee of 76.5 million euros ($89 million) with 8.5 million in bonuses. United have spent around 200 million pounds this summer after finishing 15th last season.
“We didn’t have a lot of time but he is ready, physically he is ready, that is a big component in our league. Then, he’s really smart… he is ready to play, we will see if he is going to start,” Amorim told reporters on Friday.
Amorim said United, who last season had their worst finish in the English top-flight since 1973-74, will go into the 2025-26 campaign aiming for a return to European soccer.
“We cannot change everything in four weeks, but we are better. We’re training harder and are more prepared to cope with the demands of the game,” he said.
“We want to return to Europe. We have to be realistic with our fans. We will have to fight a lot because there are more teams with time together than us. We have to focus game by game. We want to win against Arsenal.”
Gyokeres set for Arsenal debut at Man Utd, says Arteta
Arsenal’s new Swedish striker Viktor Gyokeres is primed to make his Premier League debut against Manchester United, with manager Mikel Arteta predicting on Friday that the striker will have a “tremendous impact” this season as the club chases silverware.
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Arsenal splashed nearly 200 million pounds ($271.12 million) in a summer spending spree to land six new players including Gyokeres, who was hot property on the transfer market after netting 54 times in all competitions for Sporting last term.
Sesko had been on Arsenal’s radar before moving to United and in a twist of transfer fate, the two clubs’ new strikers are set to face off at Old Trafford when the age-old Premier League rivals play each other in a rare season opener.
“I can just talk about Viktor and how happy we are to have him. He is going to have a tremendous impact in the team and his adaptation has been really, really good and we are happy to have him,” Arteta told reporters.
“Many strikers have come from different leagues and been successful. It’s on us, creating the right context for Viktor to do what he does best, which is to score goals.
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“He is getting better and better every day. He is normally a really fit player and he has had the small moments in two (pre-season) games with us, so let’s see what he brings on Sunday.”
