We all knew that the Arsenal Academy product Folarin Balogun was extremely prolific when playing for the Gunners junior teams, but he seemed to lack confidence when given a chance in the first team squad.
So it was decided to send him on loan to Reims in Ligue 1, and it proved to be a masterstroke by Mikel Arteta.
The youngster was the third top scorer in Ligue 1 before yesterday, with 11 goals to his name, and yesterday he was the saviour for Reims yet. But today he sits on top of the race for the Golden Boot….
Just before half-time Reims were 2-0 down to Lorient until Balogun got a cance to fire home a penalty just before the break.
In the second half, the home team went on to demolish Lorient with three more goals, including two more from open play, with the last one being especially impressive.
He may have been helped by having Vito Mannone in goal for Lorient!
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Cash in??? Ie, If someone offers 40+ mill to buy him, should we take it?
Why 40 only? Why should Arsernal be the cheapest seller while every one wants to skin us off when we bid their players.
If he hits +20 goals this season his price will increase to over 75M pounds.
Add another 25M if Chelsea bids for him.
A BIG BIG BIG NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
So we may not need to Add a striker in future.
We got 3 able ones already.
Is this the same league with Messi, Neymar, Mbappe, etc
Laca rejuvanated too.
Pepe has 6 goals too.
Hopefully Pepe increases his value for sale this summer.
Am not surprised at all by Flo, he’s always had it in him and he’s always been highly rated by the coaches at Arsenal from the bottom to the top.
I really like how Edu and Arteta have handled his loan, I mean it was tempting to recall him in this window but they didn’t to prioritize his development.
I have to admit, I didn’t know much about him before he went to France,since then I have been following him,reading his interviews.i have become a fan,he comes across very well,humble, hardworking.the way his teammates celebrate every time he scores,he seems to be a popular member of the team.
I saw him a few times when on loan at Middlesbrough and I have to confess he did not impress me at all.Change of scenery,allied to his natural development seems to have worked a trick and, if nothing else , his transfer value will have increased significantly.While he is not tall he is a hardy guy who can look after himself in the box.At the end of the season Arteta may be faced with an interesting dilemma as to his future with Arsenal or elsewhere.
He has to come back and be given contract extension and if he can slot in well then thats good or we send him for another loan for a year. bcz this is one of our future asset.
I have been watching him play this year and in my opinion he is better than any stricker we have at the moment.Next year he should be playing alongside Nketiak and Jesus.
Would he be willing to come back and sit on the bench??usually a season like this, would get the player a move to a bigger club,most probably in the PL.
I see Vito is still out there plying his trade. Bless his soul…
😂 you’re being harsh man!!
The good news is that if Arsenal keep him in the squad next year and not loan him out, we’ve got 3 capable strikers available. No need to spend there, and they can play across the front 3, though Eddie and Flo are more suited down the middle. Should have 4 comps to compete in, and plenty of game time to go around. Love having options!
Our attack line sorted for the next 3 years
This reminds me last year with saliba.many were predicting a sale bc we had bought White. Even some agent paper (that was good said that) but Arteta thankfully picked the best like up in the interest of the club. Hopefully the same happens if balogun continue to prove like a future world class striker. If we are to compete in UCL, PL and the cups we need all of them.