Yaya Sanogo has become the second Arsenal striker to leave the club in a matter of days. Not long after Lukas Podolski joined Inter Milan on loan, Sanogo has followed suit by signing a temporary deal with Crystal Palace, per BBC Sport. Gunners fans hoping to see Arsene Wenger press on with new recruits will have been mildly disappointed—thus far, they have simply made their squad smaller.  

At any other club, the departure of two strikers would be seen as cleaning the decks for a new arrival. However, Arsenal isn’t any other club. Their squad is so imbalanced that moving on two strikers is more likely a ploy to free up space on the wage bill for new defensive players.

At the start of this season, Arsenal barely had enough defenders to form a cohesive back four. However, they were blessed with a luxurious surfeit of strikers. Even having let Sanogo and Podolski leave, Wenger can still call upon Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck, Theo Walcott and Joel Campbell. That list doesn’t even mention teenage sensation Chuba Akpom, who will be keen to get some game-time under his belt if he is to be convinced to extend a contract that expires this summer. 

There is a distinction to be drawn between the Podolski and Sanogo deals. Podolski was a senior international who had grown increasingly frustrated at a lack of playing time. Even though there is no fixed option for a permanent deal with Inter, it would be hugely surprising to see him return to Arsenal.

Sanogo, however, is almost certain to cross the Thames back to north London this summer. This spell at Crystal Palace is simply about affording him the first-team football he requires to accelerate his development. With such a quality queue of players ahead of him at Arsenal, Sanogo was always going to struggle for regular action. There is only so much he can improve on the training ground. 

Palace seems a good match for him. It had been suggested he might return to Ligue 1 with Bordeaux, but Wenger was insistent that he preferred a Premier League move. Palace’s physical style should suit Sanogo: they have already made good use of another former Arsenal target man, Marouane Chamakh. Sanogo could thrive on the service provided by the wing pair of Yannick Bolasie and Wilfried Zaha.

Palace boss Alan Pardew also has a decent track record of dealing with young Arsenal talent. It was he who took Alex Song to Charlton, overseeing his transformation from joke figure to promising midfielder. There are still those among the Arsenal fans who have little patience with the raw Sanogo, so Pardew may have to work a similar trick all over again. 

Whatever happens, it’s likely Sanogo will return to Arsenal in May. It’s clear Wenger has enormous faith in him, given how frequently he has thrown him in against top-class opposition. With that in mind, the Arsenal boss will be unwilling to block his path to the first team: There is no chance of a new striker arriving in January.

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