Folarin Balogun has made a blistering start to life in Ligue 1 after completing a season-long loan move from Arsenal to Reims earlier this summer.
The 21-year-old has followed in the footsteps of fellow Gunners youngster William Saliba by joining a Ligue 1 side on loan. Saliba, also 21, spent much of the last three seasons at Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille, where he became a full France international.
Arsenal are now reaping the rewards of Saliba's time on loan in France as he's made a superb start to the Premier League campaign, forming a formidable partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes to help the Gunners win three consecutive fixtures, scoring once.
Saliba's most impressive loan spell was at Marseille last term. As well making his France debut, he guided them to second in Ligue 1 and was named the competition's Young Player of the Year, an award previously won by Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry.
Balogun will be aiming to claim that prestigious gong come May and is on track to put himself among the nominations after scoring three goals in his first three Ligue 1 outings for Reims, helping them secure a 1-1 draw at Strasbourg on Sunday afternoon.
In total, Balogun has played 179 minutes of football, winning one penalty and converting 38 per cent of his chances. The Arsenal youngster has scored as many league goals as Lionel Messi so far this term, with only Neymar and Kylian Mbappe bettering his record.
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Mikel Arteta will be hoping this is a breakthrough season for Balogun after a testing time last season. He failed to score during his four appearances for Arsenal and managed just three goals in 20 games during his loan spell at Championship side Middlesbrough.
Arteta believes Balogun will be a key part of Arsenal's future. He has impressed at youth level for England, scoring six goals in his 11 U21 outings. Speaking to the press in March, Arteta explained his plan for Balogun and why his time at Middlesbrough was beneficial.
"I think Flo is doing what he needed to do, and probably we should have done it a little bit earlier," said Arteta. "It's always a bit difficult to time when is the best moment to do that.
"But he’s having the right exposure, he’s playing in a different formation and sometimes a different role under a manager and a club with huge history.
"You can see how he is developing. This is going to give us more detail about what is the next best move for him to keep developing, because he has developed and we want him to be part of our future. He needed a pathway, he needs that exposure.
"He needs to go through good and difficult moments, and he needs to be able to adapt and find himself in the dressing room, and develop the importance that is required to play at this level. I think he is doing all of that really well."
