Folarin Balogun has reflected on the players who inspired him during his time in the Arsenal academy. Balogun is one of the most expensive players Arsenal has sold, as he departed for AS Monaco in the most recent transfer window.
Before earning opportunities with the senior team, Balogun was in impressive form for Arsenal’s youth teams and consistently delivered strong performances. His performances earned him a promotion to the first team, and he made a significant impact on loan at Reims last season.
When discussing his time in the academy, Balogun revealed the players who served as sources of inspiration for him.
He tells ESPN:
“Before you mention them because I went there when I was about 10 so the kind of older boys for me were Chuba Akpom and Alex Iwobi.
“Going there as a young player was daunting, you didn’t really think these guys were real and they were breaking into the first team and they are from the same area, like Chuba is from East London, that’s where I’m from so it’s nice to have them before you do it and of course you take inspiration.
“You want to be better than them so as time went on, obviously playing at a top level team people go out, people go in.”
Just Arsenal Opinion
We have always had some very good players coming through the ranks at the club, so it is not a surprise that Balogun has mentioned Iwobi and Akpom, two graduates making us proud outside the club now.
He has also left, but we expect to groom another top attacker in the coming seasons.
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Oh Balo, wish you had stayed back another year and hone your skills in France before you test the waters.