“Got a phone call”: £32,000-a-week Arsenal man makes interesting claim about Tottenham

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Folarin Balogun has been speaking about his decision to join Arsenal as a youngster, where he made an interesting claim about Tottenham.

Arsenal man trained with Tottenham

Well, the £32,000-a-week Arsenal man looks set to have a bright future at the Emirates Stadium, although he could have been turning out for Tottenham had things gone differently.

Speaking to the Ligue 1 official website while on loan at Reims, Balogun said: “My dad got a phone call from Tottenham. They were also offering me one (a trial). We hesitated because Arsenal were meant to give us a decision soon. In the end, my dad was taking me to Arsenal training on Monday, Thursday and Friday, and the others days of the week, I was training with Tottenham.

“It was intense because as well as playing for the two teams, I was going to school, of course. Everything ended well since Arsenal eventually offered me to sign, and we accepted.”

It’s a similar story to one involving Harry Kane, with the England captain regularly training for Arsenal as a youngster before Spurs snapped him up after he was released by the Gunners.

Balogun has a long way to go until he becomes as good as the Tottenham No.10 is, although the signs are promising.

The 21-year-old has impressively scored eight goals in 14 Ligue 1 appearances so far this season, while also providing two assists.

Balogun has even outscored Lionel Messi’s tally of seven, while he finds himself just three goals behind Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, both on 11 goals.

Balogun can make it at Arsenal

In our view, Balogun can genuinely fight for a first-team place under Mikel Arteta next season if he keeps this form up.

The Spaniard is not afraid to use youngsters if he feels they are good enough, with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe all playing key roles under him.

Arteta and Edu are yet to replace both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, with only Gabriel Jesus arriving to bolster the striker department.

While it may be tempting to dip into the market for another striker in 2023, Arteta must consider using Balogun if he can maintain his stunning form in France’s top-flight.