Yaya Sanogo
Wenger clearly sees something in Sanogo, as he stated when mentioning what a great future Sanogo has with Arsenal. Wenger felt confident enough in his abilities to start him in big games last year, such as against Liverpool in the FA Cup and Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Although his goal scoring record and finishing last season came under criticism from a large sector of Arsenal fans, Sanago definitely has the talent to be one of the top strikers in the Premier League. His awareness and positioning on the field comes naturally to him and he has a knack for being in the right position at the right time, something we definitely saw in the Emirates Cup last weekend. Sanogo’s link up play is arguably better than Olivier Giroud’s, as is his strength and aerial ability, all of which are funnily enough, are Giroud’s strengths. Sanogo is a much more consistent performer in the big games compared to Giroud.
When he was brought on in the the FA Cup final against Hull City last season, all those watching saw what a difference he made. He took up space allowing other players more freedom; he made dangerous runs, linked up play well, set up his teammates, and overall gave Hull City’s defense a difficult time. The game changed when he was on the field.
Again, people will point to his lack of goals and his poise in front of goal last year, but it is important to remember that these are mental attributes, which are developed with experience. Robin van Persie was not banging in goals on a game-to-game basis at a young age, Thierry Henry, Arsenal’s all time goal scorer, took time to develop his finishing and the goals didn’t start flowing in until his move to Arsenal. Aaron Ramsey was neither scoring nor performing on a consistent basis until the age of 22, the same goes for Theo Walcott, Dennis Bergkamp, and Cesc Fabregas.
A player can have all the physical and technical ability needed to succeed at an extremely high level, but mental attributes take time to develop and they are arguably more important than individual skill and physical ability. World class players do not appear overnight. Sanogo is hitting that perfect age where all those things will come together at the right time.
What is most important for Sanogo is that he has the natural ability and that Wenger clearly sees that in him and believes in him. Giroud is as good as he is, and he is a very good player, because of the hard work that he has put in to his career and less so on his natural ability. Sanogo will overtake Giroud this season and become one of Arsenal’s main attacking threats.
Some will say that Alexis was brought in to play up front, which he is true and he will. However, you must rotate the squad and Alexis will play out wide a lot, allowing Sanogo to deputise through the middle. My money is on Sanogo having a break out year.
Click on No. 3 below to see the next player.
