Looks like we've gone and signed Diaby's successor

Yaya Sanogo says a meeting with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was enough to persuade him to snub a move to Lille and join the Gunners instead.

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The 20-year-old Auxerre forward and France youth international will join Arsenal when the transfer window opens in July.

His move to the Emirates marks an impressive return from a serious leg injury which threatened to derail his career back in 2010.

He told France Football: “I wanted to stop. I told myself it was useless to go on and to imperil my health.

“I could not run any longer. I had too much pain, the doctors didn’t know what to do. But, one day I went for a jog and step by step I made my way back.�

Ligue 1 side Lille were desperate to beat Arsenal to Sanogo’s signature, but the highly-rated youngster says he was impressed after meeting Wenger.

“I told my agent the choice would be made between these two clubs,� he said. “Lille’s coach Rudi Garcia called me all the time. I hesitated a lot.

“Gilles Grimandi [Arsenal scout] came to see me from time to time at Auxerre too. One day he called me for a meeting in a Paris hotel and Arsene Wenger was there. I was very impressed.

“Wenger told me I would get opportunities and reassured me about my injury. He told me he had followed me for years. That meeting was very important and today I am an Arsenal player.

He added: “It will be an amazing adventure. I am just eager to start in one of the best leagues in the world. It is a dream that has come true.�

not his successor ...

Stick to scouting defenders imo