Folarin Balogun Set to Impress During Arsenal’s Pre-Season Tour of America
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has hinted that Folarin Balogun will be given more opportunities to stake a claim for a role in the squad on their upcoming pre-season tour of America. The Hale End academy graduate has just two years left on his current deal and wants a guarantee of regular first team football in order to build on the progress he made while on loan at Reims last season.
Balogun, who is valued at over £40million by Arsenal, scored an impressive 21 goals for the unfashionable Ligue 1 club last term and enhanced his burgeoning reputation to such an extent that as many as five clubs are now interested in signing him. He is sure to attract attention stateside, meanwhile, with the USA international set to feature in the friendlies taking place in Washington, New York and Los Angeles.
Asked about the striker’s future following last night’s 1-1 draw against Nurnberg, during which Balogun hit the post, Arteta said: “Well this is what he has been doing and that’s why we gave him the minutes that he deserves to show what he can do. He’s just staying here with us at the moment and we will see what happens.”
Arsenal missed several opportunities to leave Max-Morlock-Stadion with a comfortable win but were ultimately forced to settle for a draw following Jorginho’s bizarre own goal. Arteta reflected on the performance saying: “There are a lot of positive things that we can take, especially the way we played in the first half – the tempo, the composure, the commitment that we showed. We had some big chances to score more goals at the end, and mistakes are a part of football because they haven’t given much to be fair, but it was great to see our young players playing as well and doing really well in an environment that is challenging. We only had three training sessions with the majority of this group and the boys that played only 45 minutes, it was the maximum for some of them – it was more than enough. We picked up a few injuries which we want to avoid, so let’s go week by week now.”
With competition for places in an increasingly potent forward line fierce, Balogun will be looking to make the most of any opportunities he is given during Arsenal’s pre-season tour of America. His performances could determine whether he remains at Arsenal beyond the closure of the transfer window or if one of the five clubs interested in signing him will be successful in their pursuit.
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