Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has hinted Folarin Balogun has a future with the Gunners.
On-loan with Reims, Balogun is currently the top scorer in Ligue 1.
Arteta said, “So happy for him. He’s a boy with a really clear idea of what he wants to do in his career. Really ambitious, really committed and he’s really brave. We discussed before whether it was the right place to go [on loan to Reims] and other choices that he had. He was so convinced and I’m really happy for him because he deserves what he’s getting.
“I’m very pleased and obviously when you look at the numbers and what he’s doing it’s just incredible, and very rare to see that. But he’s got something special, that’s why we gave him a long-term contract and have faith in him and give him the long period that he’s having now, because the period he’s having now is different to the one before at Middlesbrough. But that one was very necessary to see the outcome that he’s having now.”
On Balogun’s previous loan with Middlesbrough, Arteta also said: “He had some scars from that period. There were moments when he suffered, moments where he played, moments where he didn’t play, moments where he played but he believed he wasn’t in his best position and throw all the excuses out. It’s a proper experience to add to the next one. That’s what he did, put that behind him but using what worked for him, what didn’t work for him, look in the mirror and go to the next one.”
He added, “The plan is that he finishes his period there, assess the situation where he is, where we are, then sit down and plan the next chapter in his developing career.”
