Arsenal fans as a whole seem to enjoy picking a player to slate. We’ve had many across the years and quite often, the majority of people have been served humble pie later down the line- just look at Aaron Ramsey. Olivier Giroud gets his fair share of stick, which is unfair, but Yaya Sanogo gets a lot more.
Firstly, let’s just remember that Yaya Sanogo is still very young and has a whole career ahead of him, which means it’s unfair to draw such damning conclusions at this time. Even worse though, is that fact that Yaya Sanogo is actually talented and he played his part in a successful season for the Gunners last term.
In the FA Cup final, where Arsenal were struggling, Yaya Sanogo came on and changed the game. Alongside Giroud he stretched the Hull City defence and it ultimately won us the title. This is a fact that is often neglected, it’s overlooked consistently and Sanogo still gets slated regularly.
The criticism often orientates around Sanogo’s goalscoring, or lack of goalscoring as some would call it. Which was fair enough, as Sanogo didn’t find the net last season. Then, at the Emirates Cup, he got four in a single game against Benfica. The goals were not sublime, nor were they world class but they were exactly what we needed- and not just in that game.
For years we’ve been calling out for a prolific goalscorer that can find the net when presented with an opportunity. Olivier Giroud is more of a support striker and therefore not the man we need. I’m not saying Yaya Sanogo is the diamond in the rough and the answer to all our attacking needs but here we have a player who was in the right place, at the right times, four times.
Against Manchester City in the Community Shield Yaya Sanogo didn’t have many opportunities to test the goal but he was important to the Gunners, grabbing an assist and, more importantly, causing the Premier League winning defenders real problems. He stretched the back four, made smart runs and put quality balls through to his team-mates.
Sanogo still has a long way to go but he has shown real signs of promise. With no out-and-out striker arriving at the Emirates this summer, the stage if set for the young Frenchman to make a real name for himself. In fact, I’m predicting him to have a big season ahead of him. Alexis Sanchez and Joel Campbell are most likely to be deployed out wide, which is the same with Theo Walcott, leaving just Sanogo and Giroud.
Giroud showed last season he can’t do it all himself and needs help- which is where Sanogo comes in. This season when Giroud looks tired, flaccid, lacks full fitness or is injured, the baton is probably going to pass to Sanogo. He’s shown he is ready, he’s shown he can score and he can cause problems for the best teams in the league.
If Arsenal really want to challenge for the title this term, then they will need everything to work in their favour. This includes strikers, a position that has caused the Gunners problems in the past- but worry no more. We have many options and young Sanogo will play his part. This is his breakout season, he can be a star.