Folarin Balogun has admitted that misfit winger Nicolas Pepe played a key role in his decision to leave Arsenal on loan for State de Reims.
Balogun spent time on loan at Middlesbrough last season and bagged three goals in 20 games.
That maybe wasn’t quite as impressive as Arsenal were hoping, so another loan move this season was always likely.
In August, Balogun agreed a season-long loan deal with French side Reims – and the move has been absolutely perfect so far.
The 21-year-old has already bagged eight goals in 15 games for Reims, which only 12 of those games being as a starter.
Arsenal fans will now have real hope that Balogun will fulfil his potential and become a first-team player at the Emirates Stadium one day.
Balogun talks up Pepe influence in Arsenal loan exit
Balogun has now spoken to The Athletic about his career and he highlighted those who recommended a move to France.
The New York-born striker admitted that Alexandre Lacazette – who left Arsenal for Lyon over the summer – had his say.
Lacazette told Balogun that Ligue 1 would be a ‘good league’ for him and that first-team football was vital for him at this stage in his development.
Then it was Nicolas Pepe who helped Balogun.
The Arsenal youth product noted that Pepe could see that he was ‘a bit upset’ at not having a first-team role with the Gunners.
Pepe was confident that Balogun would become a success in France and challenged him to score 10 goals in Ligue 1.
Balogun is just two goals away from that target already and he admitted appreciating Pepe’s encouragement.
“I spoke to Laca (Alexandre Lacazette) and Nico (Nicolas Pepe) before making the move,” said Balogun. “Laca told me he thinks it’s a good league for me and that I needed to start playing. Then Laca left and I spoke to Nico when we were in America on the pre-season tour. He could see during that time I was a bit upset because I wasn’t playing.”
“He just said to stay positive, keep working hard and then he said to maybe think about a loan to the French league, ‘I’m sure you can do well in this league if you apply yourself’. He set me a challenge of getting 10 goals in the league and said, ‘If you do that, you’ve made progress’. He just gave me a lot of encouragement. I took it on board, but I didn’t think too much of it at the same time. Later on, I heard the interest from France and I’m sure what he said was in the back of my mind somewhere,” he added.
Pepe may have been a flop at Arsenal following his big-money move from Lille in 2019 but it’s clear that he is respected.
The Ivorian has clearly helped Balogun massively and even if he never plays for Arsenal again – as we expect – then he has at least made a telling impact on one Arsenal talent.
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