Folarin Balogun has not been a part of Arsenal’s impressive start to the season, but his own form mirrors that of his parent club.
Balogun is highly thought of at Arsenal. When his contract was close to expiring back at the end of the 2020/21 season, the Gunners worked extremely hard to keep hold of the young striker, who was attracting interest from at home and abroad.
Once he had signed a new four-year contract in April 2021, Arsenal put a plan in place for the young striker. The 21-year-old, who has two goals and an assist in 10 appearances for Mikel Arteta’s side, was sent on loan to Middlesbrough for the second half of last season.
He impressed in the Championship, and with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gone, Alexandre Lacazette going and doubts over Eddie Nketiah, there was briefly a sense of opportunity for Balogun over the summer. Could he be in Arteta’s plans for the first team this season?
In the event, Nketiah signed a new contract and Gabriel Jesus was signed in a £45million deal from Manchester City. Balogun was not content to sit on the bench and pick up scraps. Instead he took the decision to leave north London for north east France, signing a season-long loan deal with Stade Reims.
‘Out of the comfort zone’
Moving abroad has become more commonplace for English players in the past few years, but Balogun’s decision was still brave. His services were in demand and he could easily have chosen a safer move back to the Championship. Instead he chose to challenge himself.
“I’ve spent my whole career in London so when I came here I knew it was going to be different,” he told Prime Video recently. “I didn’t know the language and I’m still trying to learn – but for me it’s important to step out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself. This is the reason I’m here and hopefully this decision will be good for me and pay off.”
That call has already earned him a fan in the form of Arsenal legend Thierry Henry. “I’m really happy for him because in general English players don’t go abroad – normally players are loaned either to another Premier League side or in the Championship,” he said on Prime Video on Sunday. “He’s a very English-style player who likes to run down the channels but he was missing something, which was his finishing.
“He’s now starting to score goals regularly and I’m happy for that, happy he has gone abroad. It’s especially so considering he is a Londoner – in general Londoners struggle to leave London. When I heard he was coming to France, it made me think he has a refreshing mindset.”
Bright spark
The appeal of Reims was clear: game time. Reims are not a big name in Ligue 1 and, having finished 12th and 14th in the past two seasons, they were willing to give Balogun the platform to show his talent.
They have been rewarded. The England youth international has contributed five goals and one assist in seven Ligue 1 games so far, despite the poor form of his team as a whole. Reims have managed just 10 goals altogether and are currently in 16th place, having won just one match this season following their 1-0 defeat by Toulouse on Sunday.
Nevertheless, Balogun is shining. He recently picked up the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Month Award for August and has been the standout player for Oscar Garcia’s side.
Balogun’s finishing ability has never been questioned at Arsenal, where he has netted 75 goals in 103 games for the under-18 and under-21 sides. But three goals in 23 games for Middlesbrough showed the reason why Arsenal were keen to loan him out again. So far he is proving himself in top flight senior football.
The grand plan
One of the people urging Balogun to move to France was Lacazette. "I remember speaking to Lacazette and he kept on telling me: you need to go to Ligue 1, you will do well here,” he said recently. “Maybe he should become my agent as well because he has a great knowledge of football!"
That is turning out to be great advice, which mirrors Arteta’s grand plan for the young striker – a plan which has already borne fruit in the form of William Saliba. Speaking in March, while Balogun was still at Boro, Arteta said: “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."
Six months on and that is still the case. Balogun is on the right path – a path which Arsenal hope will lead back to their first team.
