Folarin Balogun is being strongly linked with a move to a number of top European clubs this summer, including Premier League rivals Chelsea, but do we really have to cash in?
Strangely enough, the fanbase is mixed on whether his loan spell in France warrants a more important role within our squad. Before his loan spell with Rennes, many wanted him to get his chance to rival Eddie Nketiah for his place in the squad, but after a successful time in Ligue 1 where he scored 21 goals last season, you would have thought that the calls for him to get his chance under Mikel Arteta would be stronger.
That doesn’t appear to be the case however, with him being linked with a move to a number of top clubs in Europe. We appear to be open to allowing him to leave, even if his chosen destination is to join Premier League rivals Chelsea. The Mirror claims that we are in want of a sizeable £40 Million, with Monaco also believed to be eyeing up an improved offer from their £34 Million rejected bid.
I can’t help but feel like we should be pushing to bring him into the fold this season. Scoring 21 goals in one season in Ligue 1, bearing in mind that he had very little settling in time to even get to know the players he was playing with also, is being overlooked unnecessarily. A number of top clubs are circling around him, yet we don’t seem to have any time for him at all.
Do you not believe that he could play a role for us this season given the amount of football that there is to play? Is there any reason to believe that he is at least as good as Nketiah?
Patrick
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He does not have the same attitude as Nketiah who has never complained about being on the bench.
This is the new arsenal, a player is in trouble if he speaks his mind by asking for a chance to prove himself and has some personality. If arsenal fail woefully this season, I think fans like you deserve it.
To me you seem like you are wishing arsenal to fail so that you can prove your point….
For an Arsenal renowned for bringing youngsters into the 1st team we will regret letting go of Balo. We should temper & manage his arrogance rather than cast him away…even for $40m.
Arteta can be hard-headed… he’s a young manager.
Absolutely yes, because strikers of his calibre are rarely seen.
We currently have a squad size of 32 players. This is not sustainable. We need to get rid of approx. 6 – 7 players be it on loan or sales to maybe keep up with FFP and also maintain the minimum of 8 homegrown players. This is the harsh reality facing a PL club.
So sadly FB has to go as an asset sale.
Others that need to be moved on are: A Okonkwo, Cedric Soares, Nuno Tavares, Rob Holding, AS Lokonga and Nicolas Pepe.
Yes, we need to maintain the dressing room harmony by trimming the squad, comply with FFP and recuperate our transfer spending
Balogun is currently our most saleable CF, after his achievement in France. I don’t think Jesus and Nketiah are as valuable in the market
No need over debating this Balogun issue. The reality is GJesus & Nketiah ate more proven strikers in Epl than FBalogun. Unfortunately, he can’t overtake them at the moment. Really the fact a player had a one season goal returns in French league is no guarantee he will succeed in Epl. That’s a gamble I guess Arteta don’t want to take. At the moment he remains the most saleable for Arsenal . I bet GJesus, Nkethia and Havertz if need can all deliver. FBalogun is no dynamic CF fans crave for he is in the molud of all our current CF.
Yes. In my opinion, Jesus, Nketiah and Balogun have similar stature/ athleticism/ skills, but Balogun is much easier to sell this summer
I am not sure it is Balogun who says he wants to play regularly. I suspect his posse are pushing that scenario, knowing Arsenal would not commit to that at the moment.
So they are looking for a Transfer for him.
There is always extra money floating about during transfers!!!
But, Arteta is holding out for $50m, with no bites at that prices, which suggests he is not playing ball.
Just a thought on my part.
I think he’ll end up going on another loan he rejected earlier rather than a permanent sale.
We should try him out. With Jesus injured a lot. Niketiah and Balogun can compete against each other. They will improve each other. I think if he’s worth over 40million then he should be at least given a chance
We need to recover some of the huge investments made this summer for FFP considerations.Among all the expendable players in Arsenal, Balogun is the likeliest to command a sizeable transfer fee.
So selling him is a no brainer for me.
Sorry, Arteta is useless when it comes to handling youngsters. If Saliba was not an arsenal fan he would have gone long time, perhaps for £20m. How much do you think he is worth now: 80, 90, 100?
40m for Balogun you’re having a laugh. In a couple years time he would be worth £80m.
No, have you checked the transfer value of Guendozi, Willock, Iwobi, Chuba Akpom, AMN, etc? The only exception is Gnarby.
Thanks Joe71, Arteta in five years has not brought a single youth player through, a rookie cheque book coach at best, people talk about balogun’s attitude because he wants a fair chance to play for his club, Arteta has a stinking ego and arrogance that people ignore. How can you treat an homegrown kid like an outcast ?? Our pride and our future. Arteta has no arsenal DNA in him , this is not the arsenal way.
Smith-rowes prem debut was under Arteta, Martinelli’s 2nd prem start (1st was under Freddie) was under Arteta, Salibas prem debut also Arteta. Then you have Eddie/Nelson given chances and contracts extended against some people’s wishes. Then you have the young players bought by him and trusted.
Nonsense attack, imagine finishing 2nd with the youngest starting 11 and squad and your own fans claim you can’t handle youth. Delusional.
Exactly 💯
No. Balogun has burnt his bridges with the club by his social media-related antics which display his utter childishness and arrogance.
When he leaves, it will be good riddance to bad rubbish.
Totally agree with unsustainable squad size and get finances to strengthen other areas by selling him. But bear in mind that putting the ball at the back of the net is the most difficult thing in football.
21 league goals is a fantastic achievement.
Artata has taken a 65 million gamble on Havrez .
Why not take another 40 million gamble and see what he can do in an Arsenal shirt.
Now people are saying french league is easy and even Laca scored 20 plus goals . To me this comparison does not make sense .
Why Messi Could not score or Neymar could not score more goals ?
We have integrated Saliba based on his performance in french league and many more .
This comparison is rubbish .
If he flops then we will looses 30 million but if bangs in goals in clubs like Chelsea then the pain that Arsenal will suffer will be equivalent to 300 million .
I strongly think , Arteta should give him chance .
See Saliba was not happy and we expected him to move on but given time and chance , perspective changes. We can do the same with him
One could argue that Balogan has greater potential to score more goals than Havertz, based on demonstrated output.
A loan deal to further his development while he hone is skills would have been ideal for the kid.
Legend has it, had wasps shown a different temperament it would have been able to produce honey just like the bees
It’s a shame that Arsenal is sending a wrong signal to the young lad and other upcoming youngsters by pretending not to see what other clubs around Europe are seeing.
Arteta and Edu have done little to give the assurance, respect and inclusiveness that the young man deserves after 14 years with Arsenal.
Truth be told, Folarin has nothing to prove anymore. Scoring 21 goals in a season, a tally that is far above the likes of Messi and Neymar is not a fluke.
After all, if the guy is not good enough for Arsenal, while the £50 million asking price. The reality is, without the emotion and sentiment that few are injecting into their assessment of the situation, allowing him to leave Arsenal make no football and business sense. Otherwise, the club might one day regret such decision.
Nicolas Pepe scored 19 goals in French Ligue 1, before he was bought by Arsenal. I guess the Arsenal hierarchy is just being cautious about one-season wonders.
I agree with Gunsmoke, that another loan move for Balogun would be beneficial.
You just nailed it here, he deserve the chance. For a player to even had more conversion ratio than Jesus and Eddie last season. Like the saying goes “you will never miss the well until it runs dry”.
No way
We have a season where we could easily have up to 60 games. Players should play about 40 games a season for their bodies not to suffer burnout and increase injury chances. Players should never have to play in the ‘Burn-Out’ zone. Pep usually keeps his players from that and Arteta should follow that max. So yes Arsenal should keep Folarin Balogun. He could easily get 30-40 games a season, with the expected squad depth. Why sell a unique no 9 ?
I agree with the article. Balogun must be given a chance this season to prove himself and if he does not play well or score a minimum number of goals, he could be sold next season. But he certainly must be tried for one full season. With the number of games Arsenal will be playing, I dont think game time will be a problem. Also even when Jesus returns, he can play on the wings to rotate with Saka leaving Balogun to lead the line.
👍
To me, it is clear we don’t want or look for a traditional striker. If you look at how Jesus plays for us, it far from the traditional striker role. He works hard to lead the pressing and drifts out wide to create chances for other attackers and pulls defenders out of shape. He is not a great finisher by any standard, but clearly Arteta feels that the whole package that is Jesus is preferable to a traditional striker.
What I have seen from Belo last season is a much more traditional poacher. Nketia had developed his game in such a way that he has improved his pressing and hold up play.
So if Belo demands guaranteed game time there is no surprise, there is only one solution, and that is to let him go.
That’s not to say I would not have liked to see him get game time in pre-season, but if you know a guy wants guarantees you won’t give, why waste too much valuable game time on him?
Thanks to his good season in France she should be able to get decent money for him. I would be happy with 35-40 million, given our poor selling record and his contract situation.
Hello,
In my opinion, he should be given a chance to play , and the club eill monitor his progress.