Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit believes the Gunners will sell starlet Folarin Balogun in the summer following his impressive loan spell at Stade de Reims. The 21-year-old has scored 19 goals and provided three assists in 32 games this season, making him one of the most prolific strikers in Ligue 1. There has also been speculation that Balogun could switch allegiance to the USA having been born in New York and snubbed by Gareth Southgate during the last international break.
Petit believes Arsenal could take advantage of Balogun’s impressive form and put him on the market for around £40million, which would go some way to funding their summer transfer plans. He said: ‘I don’t know if they will continue with the strikers they have. They’ve got Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus. Florian Balogun I think will be put on the market to be sold. There are so many clubs in France, and not just in France, who are very interested in him.’
The former Arsenal midfielder also believes the Gunners need to sign four or five players in the summer, including two midfielders, a central defender and a winger. He added: ‘In midfield I think they need to add at least two players. Someone who can play in [Martin] Odegaard’s position. We’ve got [Emile] Smith-Rowe but he hasn’t had much playing time in the last few months. A central defender as well. When you look at the big teams in Europe they’ve got four strong defenders to choose from. You need to have some competition for players to earn their place. [Gabriel] Martinelli has been tremendous and [Bukayo] Saka as well, but you can feel, especially with Saka, that he’s been tired recently. [Leandro] Trossard can play as a right winger or as a left winger but you probably need one more player that can play on the wings.’