Yaya Sanogo

On 24 August, Sanogo made his competitive debut for Arsenal against Fulham at Craven Cottage in which he came on in the 81st minute for Lukas Podolski as the Gunners went on to win the match 3–1.

Sanogo picked up a back injury during international duty with the France U21 side in mid-September and was ruled out for several weeks.

Yaya Sanogo (born 27 January 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for China League One club Qingdao Red Lions.

A promising youth player, he came up at local Parisian club CO Les Ulis before moving to Auxerre's youth academy.

Sanogo quickly established himself in the club's youth system scoring 25 goals in 14 matches and also providing 17 assists in the 2006–07 edition of the Championnat Federal des 14 ans.

While playing with the under-16 team, the following season, in the Championnat National des 16 ans, Sanogo averaged a goal a game.

Alongside his positive displays domestically, Sanogo's prolific scoring on the international stage led to him being declared Auxerre's best overall prospect.

He drew the interest of Premier League clubs Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur before signing his first professional contract for three years on 27 October 2009.

Sanogo was not immediately promoted to the senior team and, instead, began the season playing in the Championnat National des 18 ans with the Auxerre under-18 team.

On 10 October 2009, Sanogo was promoted to the team's Championnat de France Amateur team making his debut in a 2–1 loss to Pontivy.

He scored his first CFA goal two weeks later in a 3–2 defeat to Romorantin.

The following week, he netted again, this time with Auxerre earning a 1–0 victory over Sénart-Moissy.

On 5 December, the youngster converted a hat trick against Viry-Châtillon in a 6–2 victory.

The three-goal display positioned him as the team's top scorer, despite being only 16 years of age.

He made his debut for Auxerre in 2010 at the age of 16.

On 24 January 2010, Auxerre manager Jean Fernandez named Sanogo to the team's squad to participate in a Coupe de France match against Sedan to be played on 26 January, a day before his 17th birthday.

He was assigned the number 19 shirt.

Sanogo made his professional debut in the match appearing as a substitute in the 108th minute.

Auxerre won the match 3–0 on penalties after the match ended 1–1 in regular time and extra time.

On 5 May 2010, Sanogo made his league debut appearing as a substitute in a 2–1 loss to Lyon.

Sanogo began the 2010–11 campaign playing with the club's reserve team in the fourth division.

On 18 September 2010, while playing in a league match against Mulhouse, Sanogo suffered a fractured tibia in a 2–0 win.

Two days later, the injury was confirmed by the club and the player was slated to miss an estimated five months.

Sanogo made his return to professional football at the start of the 2011–12 season making his first appearance of the campaign in a 2–1 win over Nancy in the Coupe de la Ligue.

On 21 September 2011, he made his first league appearance in over 17 months appearing as a substitute in a 1–1 draw with Lorient.

Four days later, Sanogo made his first professional start in a 2–1 win over Sochaux.

On 6 November, he scored his first professional goal, netting the opener in a 2–0 win over Toulouse.

In 2013, he was transferred to the Arsenal team coached by Arsene Wenger. He struggled to break into Arsenal's first team in his four seasons at the club during which time he had loan spells with Crystal Palace, Ajax, and Charlton Athletic.

He is a former French youth international, and was a member of the side that won the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Sanogo was born in Massy, Essonne to Ivorian parents.

After failing to earn selection into the prestigious Clairefontaine academy, Sanogo joined another local Parisian club CO Les Ulis, the same club that produced France national team's Thierry Henry.

He spent only a year at the club before being signed up on an aspirant (youth) contract with first division club Auxerre at age 13.

On 1 July 2013, it was confirmed that Sanogo had signed a long-term contract at Arsenal of the Premier League.

On 5 July, Arsenal announced on its official Twitter account that Sanogo would be taking the number 22 for the 2013–14 season.

The number had been used previously by Francis Coquelin, who was loaned out to SC Freiburg for the season.

Despite not playing for Arsenal since picking up the injury, Sanogo was nominated for the Golden Boy Award 2013.

On 16 February 2014, he made his first start for Arsenal in a 2–1 FA Cup win against Liverpool.

His performance was praised by club manager Arsène Wenger who showed his delight and appraised Sanogo's performance as "excellent."

In 2017, he transferred to Toulouse, where he played for three seasons.

He had a brief spell at Huddersfield Town in 2021.