Arsenal can’t bow down to Balogun as Lacazette likeness comes to light
Arsenal cannot afford to bow down to Folarin Balogun’s demands for next season. Reports claim he wants to be guaranteed regular first-team action next season but his form in France may not necessarily be repeated in the Premier League.
Balogun has had a fine season so far on loan at Reims, there is no disputing that. The 21-year-old has scored 18 goals for the Ligue 1 club, only one behind the top scorers in the division.
There are three players ahead of him, all on 19 goals each. One of those is Kylian Mbappe, which is quite the coup for the Arsenal loanee, even though the Paris Saint-Germain star has started a few fewer games than him this season.
His form has excited many Arsenal fans, who would love to see him add to their striker options next term alongside Gabriel Jesus and fellow academy graduate Eddie Nketiah. However, reports are increasingly surfacing that Balogun will be demanding regular game time upon his return in the summer.
A report from 90min.com says Balogun will hold crunch talks over his future in the summer. If Mikel Arteta cannot promise guaranteed opportunities, he will be keen to leave on a permanent basis.
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Balogun does not want to go out on loan again despite his time in France being the first full season in which he has done so. But Arteta cannot give in to his demands easily.
Alongside Mbappe on 19 goals in Ligue 1 this season is former Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette. The Frenchman has enjoyed somewhat of a renaissance having rejoined Lyon when his contract expired at the Gunners last summer.
But it may also emphasise the view shared by many that the standard of the French top flight is nothing on the Premier League. Lacazette spent five seasons at Arsenal and didn’t score more than 13 league goals in a single campaign.
His final season in north London was his worst, scoring just four league goals in 30 outings. But despite his best years seemingly being behind him, he has returned to France and started banging the goals in again.
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Lacazette has already reached 19 for Lyon this term with seven games remaining. He scored over 20 league goals in each of the three seasons before he signed for Arsenal in 2017, which led to Arsene Wenger splashing out over £52million on his signature.
But he was never able to properly show that goalscoring pedigree in England, despite being in the prime of his career for his first few seasons at the Emirates. Balogun is no doubt an exciting talent who could have a big future in the game.
His season in France shouldn’t be belittled and the Reims story is a great one. But it is naive to expect to be guaranteed minutes at one of the Premier League’s top clubs next season.
A loan at a top-flight club in England could do him the world of good and help him fulfil his dream of ultimately becoming an Arsenal first-team star. But if he is not prepared to do that, then Arteta has shown in the past he will have no hesitation in showing him the door.
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