Folarin Balogun is already scoring goals for fun at Monaco with the former Arsenal and Premier League starlet showing his ‘incredible efficiency’ at the Ligue 1 leaders.
It surely cannot just be us who were left a bit baffled about why Mikel Arteta seemed determined not to offer Folarin Balogun an opportunity to stake his claim at Arsenal?
Balogun scored 21 top-flight goals on loan at Reims last season after all. And for all of Eddie Nketiah’s determination and discipline, it is hard to imagine the man currently leading the line under Arteta coming anywhere near such a tally, even at an Arsenal side boasting some of the Premier League’s most creative talents.
Folarin Balogun shining after Arsenal exit
Arsenal sold Balogun to Monaco for an initial £26 million in August. And, with three goals and an assist in his first three league starts for Les Monegasques, former Gunners midfielder Stewart Robson may have a point when he tells ESPN that Arsenal kept Nketiah while selling ‘the better player’.
“This year, we’re strong, especially with Balogun,” Monaco team-mate Krepin Diatta says, via Goal. “(Balogun) has just come in and has incredible efficiency in front of goal. We already knew his qualities, but he helps us a lot.”
Can’t stop scoring in Ligue 1
The USA international remarkably missed two penalties as Monaco lost to rivals Nice in September but he’s certainly shown plenty of what Arsene Wenger once referred to as ‘bouncebackability’.
In fact, since the start of 2022/23, Balogun now has 24 goals in 37 Ligue 1 starts for Reims and Monaco respectively.
That is more than Nketiah has in nearly 100 outings in England’s top-flight.
“They need top Premier League strikers to win this league,” former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan told talkSPORT after the Arsenal number 14 missed a couple of very-presentable chances at Selhurst Park.
“Nketiah is a decent player. He is a decent, mid-table Premier League-side player. But if you are going to try and win leagues, you’re going to need people who can score 20, 25 goals and they haven’t got them.
“I think he is a decent, mid-table player.”
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