Arsenal has some of the best young players in England at the moment, giving Mikel Arteta the chance to play the youngsters on a regular basis.
This season alone has seen the emergence of Emile Smith Rowe as well as Folarin Balogun.
The former has broken into the first team in recent matches, but the latter is entering the final six months of his current deal with the club and has seen just a handful of chances.
Balogun’s path to the first-team squad has been blocked by the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah, but Arsenal fan and writer, Dave Seager, says that the Gunners should sacrifice Nketiah for him.
He admits that Nketiah is a fine finisher and can hold his own when it comes to scoring goals, however, he isn’t good with hold up play and struggles to play as a lone striker.
The England Under21 star is a talented individual, but Seager says Arteta’s style of playing with a lone striker through the middle works against his advantage, but Folarin has the attributes to thrive in such a setup.
He writes on Sun Sports: “Nketiah has ice in his veins and is a natural finisher, but he is slight of frame and not the quickest.
“His lack of strength hinders Arsenal’s hold-up play, crucial in to team success in a 4-2-3-1, through the middle, while his lack of pace makes him less suitable out wide.
“Meanwhile, Balogun has pace and strength in spadefuls, which is why so many Arsenal fans relish the prospect of him breaking into the first-team on a regular basis.
“Nketiah needs a central strike partner or two genuine, natural wingers in a 4-3-3 to thrive – not Arteta’s current mishmash of strikers on the wing.
“Arteta has given up on 4-3-3 and has never hinted at playing two central strikers, leaving Nketiah at a crossroads in his career.”
Football Insider is now reporting that Balogun has pre-agreed to join RB Leipzig, so Seager’s plea is almost certain to fall on deaf ears. Which brings up the valid question, who would you have preferred to sign for Leipzig, Nketiah or Balogun?