Arsenal close in on Sanogo

Arsene Wenger has today confirmed that Arsenal are close to signing young French striker Yaya Sanogo from Auxerre. The Arsenal manager revealed this when asked about the possibility of the deal happening, following reports in France that Arsenal were closing in on him.

Wenger said:

"“We are advanced with him, but it is not done. I am very confident. He is a young striker who is promising, and has a big talent.” – Arsene Wenger on the possible deal for Yaya Sanogo. Quotes: The Guardian"

Back in March it was reported here that Arsenal had met with Sanogo and his agent in Paris to discuss a possible transfer to Arsenal. It appears as though this was correct.

The striker has netted a very impressive 9 goals in 11 games for the Ligue 2 club and is available for free this summer having rejected a new deal at Auxerre. Whilst he is available on a free due to the expiration of his contract, Arsenal will have to pay Auxerre a compensation fee if the deal does go through, due to Sanogo being under the age of 23 (he is 20).

Yaya Sanogo is set for a summer switch to Arsenal.

Picture: The Daily Mirror.

Sanogo has also reportedly rejected offers from a number of clubs in his homeland, in favour of a four-year contract with the Gunners.

Arsenal don’t have much to lose with this deal, assuming it does go through. The fee they will pay Auxerre is going to be minimal I’d imagine and he is certainly worth bringing into the club on a free with a goalscoring record like that, regardless of the division he is playing in over in France.

Remember a very young Nicolas Anelka coming over from PSG in 1997 for £500k?. Yeah, Anelka might have only stayed at Arsenal two years, but he played his part in our 1998 Double success and if he had stayed, he’d have been an Arsenal legend without any doubt. It wasn’t just Arsenal he had a short spell it, he never really stayed anywhere too long.

This certainly isn’t to suggest that Sanogo will be as successful as Anelka was during his brief spell at Arsenal, but it also shows that young, talented strikers are available on the cheap and maybe he will be another Wenger gem. Time will tell. For every Anelka or Fabregas success story, you get a Carlos Vela or Jermaine Pennant that doesn’t work out.