Ian Wright thinks that Arsenal and Mikel Arteta made the right decision to loan out Folarin Balogun in January.
Balogun started the Premier League curtain-raiser against Brentford back in August but then struggled for game time with the first-team, playing just 74 minutes across all competitions since the 2-0 defeat in west London.
Despite giving fellow Hale End academy graduate Eddie Nketiah more opportunities than Balogun, first-team head coach Mikel Arteta has made it no secret of his admiration for the talented forward.
Speaking in October, Arteta said: "Again, with Flo (Balogun) we have a really clear project. The steps that he’s making, they are the right steps.
"Don’t forget he is really young, he hasn’t played almost any professional football, and you need to go through every phase – and don’t try to jump phases when you are not ready to do so.
"Again I’m really happy with him, he’s making the right progress and in December we will see where we are and what’s the best for him as well."
Nevertheless, the Spaniard thought it was best for him to get some more experience this January, and therefore decided to let him go on loan to Championship side Middlesbrough.
It attracted some criticism from a selection of fans - especially those who think he is better than Nketiah - but Wright thinks Arteta was justified in sending him out on loan.
"Fantastic opportunity for him," Wright said on ITV Sport before Middlesbrough's trip to Old Trafford in the FA Cup Fourth Round on Friday.
"He’s done unbelievable stuff for the U23s. The U23s is a league that’s not for him, he’s too good for it. But at the same time we’ve seen him break into the first team but it’s not quite happened for him.
"We saw him at Brentford and a couple games past him by but now, for him to get to a place like Middlesbrough under a manager like Chris Wilder, he’s learning, he’s got to learn, got to learn quicker the game’s a lot faster.
"That’s what people don’t understand, the U23s is not real in respect to what these guys have go to learn to get to the next level, so he needed to get out on loan.
"I’m pleased to see him out on loan and he’s at a place and playing in a competition where we can see what he’s capable of and now it’s up to him to bring it in a game like this."
Gunners fans will be hoping that he continues to improve under Wilder, and comes back to the Emirates as a more accomplished and complete striker.
