Speaking on the Highbury Squad YouTube channel, Kevin Campbell has been discussing the development of Folarin Balogun and Gabriel Martinelli.
These two attackers have come on leaps and bounds over the past year.
One year ago, the pair started the Gunners’ first game of the 2021/22 season at Brentford, and they looked wholly out of their depth.
However, since then, Martinelli has established himself as a star for Arsenal and Brazil, while Balogun has been more than making his mark over in Ligue 1 this season.
While Balogun is flying over in France, Campbell has stated that he believes that Martinelli is on a higher trajectory than Balogun right now.
Martinelli progressing nicely
Campbell spoke about the pair of young stars.
“They couldn’t get a kick against Brentford, but you could see the trajectory that these players are on. Martinelli is on a higher trajectory at the moment than Balogun, but he’s finding his feet at the moment Balogun. He’s scoring goals, he’s got assists, he’s doing well, let’s keep him on that trajectory,” Campbell said.
Could overtake him
Martinelli is certainly on a higher trajectory than Balogun right now – after all, he’s a starter for Arsenal while Balogun is out on loan, but that may not be the case for too long.
Indeed, Balogun, much like William Saliba last season, is on fire over in France scoring eight league goals in 15 appearances so far, and if he can carry that form over to the Premier League, he’ll be arguably more important to Arsenal than Martinelli is right now.
Of course, there is a long way to go between now and then, but just because Martinelli has shined a bit brighter at this stage doesn’t necessarily mean that Balogun can’t reach, and surpass, that level.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
