Can Yaya Sanogo still come good?

Prior to signing Danny Welbeck, Arsene Wenger was keen to posit Yaya Sanogo, the young French striker, as The Gunners’ next great hope.

He claimed that The Gunners didn’t have to go out into the transfer market because he could already call upon players like Lukas Podolski (who he doesn’t seem to trust), Theo Walcott (who’s recovering from injury), Alexis Sanchez (who’s adapting to English football) and yes, Yaya Sanogo.

But in performance after performance (17 thus far), Sanogo has failed to find the back of the net. In fact, most of his appearances have been laughably shambolic. He’s occasionally able to make things happen through his clumsiness (and unpredictability), but beyond that he hasn’t been very useful thus far.

As a result, he’s been the subject of much derision from fans. This all strikes me as a little harsh, given that he’s just 21-years-old. It’s not his fault that Arsene Wenger has heaped so much responsibility on him at a young age.

As it happens, the player seems to be taking it all in his stride. Speaking after scoring two goals for the French U21s (why can’t he do that in an Arsenal shirt?), he told the media:

“Football is the football, but it takes time to adapt. When you come out of Ligue 2 and you end up in a duel with [Man City’s Vincent] Kompany, it is not an easy task.” (Source: The Metro)

I think that’s a good point. Yaya Sanogo has taken a massive step up in quality. He needs to be granted the time necessary to adapt. Hopefully Danny Welbeck’s arrival will afford him this.

Sanogo continues:

“On all aspects (of my game) I’ve evolved. When you train with great players every day, you progress. When you play big teams, it helps gain experience…”

“At 21, it’s not easy to play striker at Arsenal. You have to fight every day to prove your worth. But Wenger just pushes me to continue my work will eventually pay off.”

Let’s hope he’s right. Sometimes all it takes is one goal to open the floodgates. With the pressure now off, maybe he can find some form in the Capital One Cup, or in the lower levels of the FA Cup?

One thing makes me feel hopeful: he scored four goals against (an admittedly weakened) Benfica side during pre-season. We know he has goals in him. Let’s hope that he starts to unleash them upon unsuspecting opposition soon enough.

What’s your take? What does the future hold for Yaya Sanogo?

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