Ajax have confirmed the signing of striker Yaya Sanogo on a one-year deal loan deal from Arsenal for next season. The Frenchman was photographed signing a contract at the Amsterdam Arena, where he will be hoping to gain a lot more first-team football than he has had at the Emirates Stadium in two seasons.
Ajax tweeted the following video of Sanogo being welcomed to the club. He will work in close association with Gunners legend Dennis Bergkamp, who will try to kick-start his form in front of goal and also give him tips to adapt in the Premier League. Berkgamp, who made over 400 appearances for Arsenal between 1995 and 2006, is the assistant manager to Frank de Boer at Ajax, while another former Arsenal man, Marc Overmars, is the Director of Football at the club.
Yaya Sanogo’s kennismaking met #Ajax en de @AmsterdamArenA! #welkomyaya https://t.co/TvSmRSKmJX
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) July 17, 2015
This is Sanogo’s second loan spell since joining Arsenal from Auxerre in 2011. He was sent to Crystal Palace towards the end of last season. Despite making 10 appearances, he is still looking for his first goal in English football. The following statistics by Squawka say it all:
Yaya Sanogo’s record in the Premier League: 21 games 11 shots 0 goals 0 assists 0% chance conversion rate Ouch. pic.twitter.com/UfVsyFuCaj
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) July 17, 2015
This now almost certainly means that Arsenal will sign another striker this summer. Lukas Podolski has also left the club, signing for Galatasaray earlier this month. This leaves Olivier Giroud as the only recognised out-and-out forward in the club, and with the Frenchman having his fair share of problems in front of goal last season, Wenger needs to bring someone in.
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