You would have to think that Yaya Sanogo is a lot better in front of goal when he is training with the Arsenal squad, otherwise he would never get a game with the first team. But it is also clear that the lanky young Frenchman lacks confidence in front of goal during a competitive game.
Wenger has obviously seen plenty from Sanogo since he joined us from Auxerre last summer on a free transfer. And to be fair to the lad, he surprised us all when the Prof started him against Bayern Munich and Liverpool in key games last season.
And it is not just the manager who has faith in Sanogo, because his fellow countryman Mathieu Flamnini has spoken out in an Evening Standard report to defend the 21-year old after his performance at Leicester made it 16 games without a senior goal and drew heavy criticism from the fans and media alike.
Flamini said, “He’s a young player and will perform game after game. It’s important for him to play and he will become stronger and stronger.
“Yaya is a young player with a lot of qualities and game after game he will get stronger and better. If he’s part of this team it’s because he’s full of quality.
“Is he affected mentally by having not scored yet? I don’t think so. He’s a young player, he needs to play. I don’t think it’s a problem.”
I can see what Flamini is saying and do have sympathy for Sanogo. Don’t forget that he made a real difference when he came on at Wembley and helped Arsenal to end the nine year trophy drought with an FA cup trophy. But he didn’t score then and despite netting four in one game at the Emirates cup, you can see that it is affecting him. Let’s just hope that he gets off the mark sooner rather than later.