Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta delivers Folarin Balogun verdict

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has waxed lyrical about Folarin Balogun in wake of his heroics on loan at Reims.

The 21-year old has been in sensational form for the Ligue 1 side, registering 14 goals in the French top flight.

Indeed, Balogun’s tally has put him top of the league’s goalscoring charts, ahead of PSG’s Kylian Mbappe.

The Arsenal forward has really kicked on since a difficult season last time out.

Balogun made the starting XI in the 2021-22 season opener against Brentford, only to come off after 59 minutes.

Then, he went on loan to Middlesbrough, but only managed three goals in 18 Championship games for them.

That’s all in the past now, and Balogun is now showing he has what it takes to shine at the highest level.

‘He’s really ambitious’

Arteta, speaking to the Arsenal media team ahead of the Brentford clash, couldn’t sing Balogun’s praises highly enough.

“I’m so happy for him,” Arteta said.

“He’s a boy that has a really clear idea of what he wants to do with his career.

“He’s really ambitious, really committed and really brave.

“We discussed a lot before he made that move whether it was the right place to go and the other choices he had.

“He was so convinced. I’m really happy for him because he deserves what he’s getting.

“When you look at the numbers and what he is doing, it’s just incredible. It’s very rare to see that.

“But he’s got something special, that’s why we decided to give him a long-term contract and have faith in him and give him the long period that he needs now.

“Because the loan he is having now is really different to the one he had before at Middlesbrough.

“He had some scars from that period. There were moments when he suffered, moments when he played, and when he didn’t.

“Moments when he played in what he believes is not his best position. He threw all those excuses out and went into the next experience.

“He put that behind him, but using exactly what worked for him, what didn’t work, looked in the mirror and moved to the next one. He’s done that really, really well.”

Arsenal attack shaping up to be something to behold – TBR View

It’s absolutely amazing to see Balogun doing so well at Reims.

He was one of Arsenal’s top academy talents, and now he’s living up to his potential.

Surely Arteta will integrate Balogun into the Gunners first-team next season.

Arsenal’s quality and strength in depth in attack would be something to behold.

Up front, Arteta would be able to pick between Gabriel Jesus, Eddie Nketiah and Balogun.

Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Emile Smith Rowe, Leandro Trossard and Reiss Nelson would be available on the flanks.

Arsenal are building something great for the future. Credit to Arteta and Edu for the efforts they’ve put in.