Balogun desperately needs a loan in January
From the first team appearances that Folarin Balogun has made this season, including last night against Sunderland, everybody can settle on one conclusion: he’s not ready.
Despite being in the spotlight for some time now, the young Englishman is clearly not ready to make the step up to the senior Arsenal team just now.
That doesn’t mean he will never be. The 20-year-old has already shown what he’s capable of doing.
Tearing apart defenses through his sublime dribbling skills while scoring for fun has become a habit. But all those adventures have come for the reserve team of Arsenal.
The young forward is somewhere in between the lines… too good for the u23’s level but not yet ready for the first team.
And the other side of the story being…
Everybody knows what Balogun is capable of producing on a football pitch. And that’s why the striker won’t be short of suitors come the January transfer window.
A loan move to somewhere he gets minutes can be invaluable to the American-born striker. Just look at the perfect example we already have at the club: Emile Smith Rowe.
The attacking midfielder was another player, just like Balogun, who was highly regarded but was struggling to make a breakthrough in the senior team.
However, he went through an awful amount of developing which made him a *man* he is now. Similar things can be expected of his counterpart, who had another underwhelming performance.
Another discussion which has happened in the fans’ circle is, ‘who should be ahead in the pecking order between Eddie Nketiah and Balogun?’
Although Balogun’s ceiling might be higher than Nketiah, he’s nowhere close to what his senior is capable of producing just now.
That makes Mikel Arteta picking Nketiah over Balogun more justified.
It’s okay to be excited about the young forward and it’s okay to create a hype around him. In the end, that is what fans love to do.
But maybe we need to have patience. And when the time comes, I’m sure we will enjoy the ride Balogun has to offer.