Arsenal: Yaya Sanogo Atomic Elbow Actually Positive

Arsenal loanee Yaya Sanogo decided to insert his elbow into Anthony Kay’s face. And we are of the opinion that it is a good thing. So take that.

Yaya Sanogo is having himself quite the time at Charlton Athletic. In his first starting appearance, he netted a hat trick. In his second, he had a decent enough follow up with an assist. Then, in his third, he decided that MK Don’s defender Anthony Kay needed his face caved in.

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Before I get any further, have a look for yourself:

Yes, that was our Yaya Sanogo. The lanky, soft striker that was never going to amount to much. And yes, you read that correctly, I am definitely in favor of seeing Sanogo drop atomic elbows into opposing player’s face holes.

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There was a time when Arsenal was not soft. They were anything but. Patrick Vieira met himself many a red card for extra curricular activities on the pitch. He and Manchester United’s Roy Keane got into many a tussle, giving us fond memories of when Arsenal was battle-hardened and not afraid of anyone.

Lately, Arsenal has lost that rough and ready mentality and traded it for a bit of a soft core. There are a few exceptions, and it is no coincidence that those exceptions stand out as fond memories. Remember when Jack Wilshere headbutted Marouane Fellaini? Arguably one of my fondest memories of recent history.

Remember when Gabriel stood up to that marauding caveman, Diego Costa? Sure, it was a red card (not really), but it was a positive thing. It showed that Arsenal had fight.

That kind of thing had been lacking until the frustrations started building up lately. Alexis threw Lamela to the ground and Aaron Ramsey took exception to a malicious tackle by Victor Wanyama. But it’s a rare occurrence. No one fears Arsenal. That is not a good thing.

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After seeing this video, defenders should be afraid of Yaya Sanogo. I’m not saying he should cold-cock a defender half-hour into every match just for the sake of intimidation, but you can bet he didn’t do this completely on a whim. It’s never that simple.

People see this and remember – ‘that guy throws elbows at the face’. Most people shy away from that kind of thing. Some may dig at you for the sake of the team, but not many.

It may sound crazy, but a stray elbow from time to time, or headbutt if you’re Jack Wilshere, is not the end of the world. It is a tool that can be used against the opposition. For it to come from such an unlikely source as Yaya Sanogo could be seen as even more of a boon.

It was a nasty elbow, obviously, and MK Dons’ manager Karl Robinson believes Sanogo should be banned for the season. That’s a bit extreme. Of course, I guess so too is believing that the elbow was a good thing. Agree to disagree.

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Am I crazy for thinking this? Leave a comment.