TA: Arsenal will choose Cesco as its first choice before March, Berta will turn alone after taking office

Arsenal has officially announced the signing of Yorke, and TA reveals the behind-the-scenes story:

A year ago, few people foresaw this result. Before Berta took office in March, Yorke was not a major candidate on Arsenal's signing list. Given his goal performance at Portugal Sports, the international, who has made 26 appearances for the Swedish national team, is indeed within Arsenal's attention.

However, when Berta's predecessor Edu and his signing team evaluated, Yorke was positioned as a second-tier player—a candidate who can support Kai Havertz but may not necessarily surpass the German player. His physical fitness and shooting ability are beyond doubt, but he doesn't seem to be clearly suitable for Arsenal's game mode under Arteta's rule. The preferred target at that stage is RB Leipzig's Sesco - Arsenal had discussed the deal in the summer window of 2024 and plans to restart this year. In March, Edu's interim successor Jason Eto planned to visit Germany in an attempt to make progress in that direction. Arsenal seems to be ready for the summer signing Cesco. Then, at the end of that month, Berta was appointed and the situation changed. Aito's trip to Germany was put on hold and Yorke's name was firmly placed on the list.

Berta has long admired the player and believes he may be the striker Arsenal needs to help them end their current five-year championship-free wait. Arsenal, with the support of his boss, decided to put his personal preferences aside and explore the framework of two deals. Based on sufficient information, analyze the pros and cons of two people.

Over the past 18 months, Cesco's team has developed a strong relationship with Edu and Eto, laying the foundation for a potential deal to bring their players to Emirates Stadium. It was a different relationship when Berta arrived – while the Cesco team still believes the 22-year-old Slovenian is Arsenal’s top choice, his agent does worry that key personnel changes could endanger the transfer.

Cesco's agents are also cautious about making commitments too early. They didn't want to limit their choices and took a radical stance in their negotiations with Arsenal - something that wasn't popular in North London. Still, constructive engagement with Cesco's agent continued, who attended Arsenal's home game against Newcastle United as a guest invited by the club.

Arsenal and Berta did explore the possibility of buying Cesco and had long talks with the latter's agents, and Leipzig also knew their interests. The German club, which tends to reach a deal early to clarify the direction and help accelerate the reconstruction, was only seventh in the Bundesliga last season.

Cesco's age structure and potential attracted Arsenal. They conducted important background checks on him and tracked his development for several years. The idea of signing a young player with room for improvement and value-added prospects during his time at Arsenal is very attractive to the club owner.

But the negotiations eventually made limited progress this summer. In terms of the transfer fees required by Leipzig, Sesco's salary expectations and related commissions, it is too expensive for young players who still have room for improvement as Arsenal believes. Cesco's potential is obvious, but Arsenal is in a stage where it needs to be effective.

German sources show that if the transfer fee is too high for Arsenal, there is still room for further negotiation. But Arsenal has struggled to make significant progress in the negotiations - their communication with Cesco's agent is not smooth. As the balance tilted towards Yorke, the Cesco team made a concession—but it might have been too late by then.

Meanwhile, Yorke began to have a significant attraction to Arsenal's top leaders. He is experienced and a time-tested shooter at the age of 27 in June. He has played in the English League, joining Brighton at the age of 19 in 2018, and was loaned to Swansea City and Coventry City, eventually moving to the latter permanently. As Arsenal searches for the final puzzle of the championship, he looks like a key player who can fight.