‘He’s got all the attributes’: International boss hails Arsenal striker

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Arsenal forward Folarin Balogun has been praised by England Under-21 boss Lee Carsley ahead of the Young Lions’ upcoming European qualifiers.

The 20-year-old Gunners striker is one of the brightest youngsters to come through the Hale End ranks in recent years.

Many Arsenal fans were thrilled when Balogun put pen to paper on a new long-term contract in April following months of negotiations.

However, Balogun still remains on the fringes of the first team, largely plying his trade for the Under-23s.

The youngster has a staggering 10 goals and two assists from just eight Premier League 2 two appearances this term.

Balogun has made two Premier League appearances, in the first two games of the season, but hasn’t featured in the top-flight since.

He has also made one appearance in the Carabao Cup, but remained an unused substitute against Leeds last time out.

And Carsley feels Balogun is too good for age-level football right now, suggesting he should look at a loan move away in January.

“You need testing,” football.london quotes Carsley as saying.

“Watching him in the Under 23s for Arsenal, it’s probably a little bit too easy for him and he’s passed that level.

“I imagine he wants to play for Arsenal and pushing for a position but it’s such a big club with a lot of competition.

“They’ll have a career path for him and a way to break through because he’s got all the attributes.

“He’s level-headed, wants to work hard, asks really good questions. He wants information. He’s picking Ashley [Cole] and Joleon [Lescott]’s brains on defenders.

“I think it would be fair to say that a lot of the clubs in Europe would be aware of Flo’s qualities and if anything he has just got to keep proving it to himself.

“He is the only person he’s got to impress and look himself in the mirror.

“He’s got outstanding ability, attributes and workrate and he is a player that people look forward to seeing.”

England U21s are in action against Czech Republic U21s on Thursday evening.