The debate surrounding which of the two Hale End strikers of Folarin Balogun and Eddie Nketiah has been growing in it’s participants amongst the supporter base since the on-loan Reims forward began smashing in the goals on a regular basis. Balogun is up to 17 for the season with only one coming outside of Ligue 1.
Eddie Nketiah meanwhile remains out injured with an ankle issue but prior to his forced absence had deputised for the then-recovering Gabriel Jesus. The Brazilian was sidelined with a knee injury with the Gunners sustaining a five-point lead, with great help from Nketiah, all the way through to his return at the weekend in the 3-0 win over Fulham.
There are arguments to both Nketiah and Balogun’s cases. Whether it’s suggestions that Premier League experience trumps that of a good scoring record in a widely-regarded less challenging league compared to the English top flight, or that the 21-year-old has demonstrated a greater consistency in performance and better physical attributes than his fellow Hale End graduate.
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However, what if the summer could spell the end of both players’ Arsenal careers? In the January transfer window, Arsenal invested a guaranteed £20million into Leandro Trossard with potential bonuses seeing the deal rise to as much as £27million.
With Nketiah initially suffering a knock before his injury became more serious, Mikel Arteta chose to bring Trossard into the centre-forward role against Leicester City. He scored a brilliant strike that was harshly ruled out for offside but later drifted to the left flank to set up the chance for Gabriel Martinelli to score the winning goal of the game.
Trossard would start the following three fixtures in the position which included wins over Everton and Fulham, although he was substituted early against Bournemouth due to a minor injury. He recorded four assists in these games including three at Fulham last weekend.
The Belgian saw comparisons made to the movement provided by Gabriel Jesus in the first portion of the season. The understanding between him and Martinelli in particular has been great to watch and certainly returned the left winger to a level seen when Jesus was his partner.
With this in mind and a summer transfer plan in the works, it could be that this is the style of centre forward that Arteta might want to fill his forward options with. Nketiah is more of a typical number nine in regard to playing in a small field of view.
Balogun has demonstrated a willingness to drift but so far lacks the collaborative characteristics highlighted by Jesus and Trossard. Balogun has just two assists this season despite his impressive goal haul whereas Jesus managed seven in eight fewer games and Trossard made five in 18 less.
It seems of the two Balogun makes the most sense to keep but also he holds the higher transfer value with reports in Italy suggesting a potential €40million (£35.3million) asking price. A sale of both forwards could give the Gunners freedom to find a forward that fits what Arteta wants more specifically with even some money remaining to help fund moves at central midfield and full back.
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