Sanogo doesn't need to score goals at Palace, claims Pardew

Our raw young striker Yaya Sanogo has joined Crystal Palace on loan for the remainder of the season, but new Eagles boss Alan Pardew claims scoring goals is not important for the Frenchman, according to the Daily Mail.

Having made the shock move from Newcastle United to Crystal Palace, Pardew has got off to an excellent start in South London. The demolition of non-league side Dover in the FA Cup was followed by a fantastic victory over Tottenham; a feat which certainly serves to endear Arsenal fans to the former Magpies boss.

Pardew is looking to add some much needed firepower to his squad, and Sanogo will join former Gunner Marouane Chamakh at the club in a bid to help them avoid relegation this season.

Despite his side’s need for goals however, the Palace boss insists that that is not why he brought the 21-year-old to the club.

“Strikers in the Premier League don’t always have to score goals,” he said.
“I think Sanogo offers the chaos factor. He has technical ability and defenders don’t always know what he’s going to do.”

He has a point, and the role of the striker has certainly changed in recent years. A modern forward has to offer more to the team as well as his goals however, not in place of.

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Olivier Giroud is a perfect example, as not only does he regularly get on the score sheet, but he brings a huge array of other qualities to the side as well. His hold up play is superb, as is his link up play; and he is not averse to tracking back and defending when he needs to.

The 28-year-old Frenchman already gets plenty of stick for not scoring enough however, which goes to show just how important it is to be a well rounded player nowadays.

Sanogo has definitely shown promise at times, but he has a long way to go before he even comes close to being of the required quality to play for Arsenal.