Mikel Arteta continues to be faced with a major attacking dilemma in the summer with on loan forward Folarin Balogun on target again. Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah are the two current natural number nine options at the club with Balogun sent out on loan to Reims to help develop his game in France.
The 21-year-old Hale End grad has been on fire in Ligue 1 this season and his strike in Reims' 4-0 win over Troyes took him to 15 goals for the season making him the outright top scorer in France, two ahead of Kylian Mbappe.
Ahead of Arsenal's clash with Brentford, Mikel Arteta was asked about Balogun with the Spaniard delivering nothing but praise while also revealing the plan for his future in north London amid plenty of European interest. He said: "So happy for him. He’s a boy with a really clear idea of what he wants to do in his career.
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"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."
Gabriel Jesus' injury brought talk of him possibly being recalled with football.london reporting a clause in the deal that saw him join Reims at the start of the season gave the Gunners the option to bring him back in January. However, Arteta revealed that the plan had always been for the New-York born talent to finish his season in France.
"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," the Spaniard said.
Nketiah's form has made his pathway to the first-team unclear and his form in France has understandably brought about interest from elsewhere. According to the Daily Mail, Serie A holders AC Milan have renewed their interest in the striker.
It's also claimed that Marseille and Villarreal are also interested in the New York-born striker over a summer move. Balogun has two years remaining on his deal at the Emirates Stadium and faces an uncertain role to play at the club next season.
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