By Rob Worthington (Deputy Editor)
If you asked a Ligue 1 fan at the start of the season who they thought the league’s top scorer would be the season’s midpoint, they’d likely point you in the direction of a member of PSG’s front three.
If you then told this hypothetical fan that it wouldn’t be a PSG player, they’d have to do a bit of head scratching. Would former Arsenal striker Alex Lacazette make a triumphant return to Lyon? Would Wissam Ben Yedder continue his strong form with Monaco? Or would Jonathan David finally begin to fulfil his full potential at Lille?
As a very smug Arsenal fan, I’d take great pressure in telling them each suggestion would be wrong. Instead, a player with little to no experience at the top level sits top of the tree in terms of scoring in France’s top division, that man being our very own Folarin Balogun.
Many at Arsenal have been aware of Balogun’s talents for a fair while now. With an exit looking likely for the youngster in 2021 with no breakthrough in contract talks, Mikel Arteta intervened and acted to make sure the striker wouldn’t leave on a free.
6 months on from signing a new deal, Balogun may have felt he made a mistake by not moving on. Competing with the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alex Lacazette, and Eddie Nketiah for a starting berth, Balogun wasn’t receiving the minutes on field that he perhaps expected when he renewed.
Due to the lack of playing opportunities for the youngster, Arsenal let Balogun leave the club on loan in January. He didn’t set the world alight during his time with Middlesbrough in the Championship, picking up just 9 starts and scoring 3 goals, but he did gain some valuable experience at a professional level.
The loan move however did not indicate he was ready to compete with Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah for a starting position at Arsenal. This time around, Balogun would get a full season on loan at French club Reims, and it’d be fair to say it’s going pretty well.
In a hugely impactful manner, he’s been able to flex every single one of those attractive attributes people were taking note of when Balogun was rising through the ranks in the Arsenal academy.
Balogun was always considered more of a complete centre-forward than Eddie Nketiah at youth level. Nketiah, who’s technical level has developed remarkably well over the course of the last year, was better known for his poaching abilities.
But Balogun’s game was always more rounded. For this reason, when Nketiah’s technical level was at a developmental stage, many believed Balogun would eventually displace his fellow Hale End academy graduate in the first-team set-up. At this stage, it seemed Balogun had more of the attributes Mikel Arteta wants from his centre-forward than Nketiah did.
Fast forward about a year and the picture is oh so wonderfully different. Eddie Nketiah’s technical ability has come on leaps and bounds, and it’d appear his long-term future very well could be at Arsenal. Meanwhile, Balogun is still lingering in the shadows to a degree, but he can’t be ignored when he returns from Reims at the end of the season.
Oh, and Arsenal also spent about £50 million on a striker last summer, none other than Gabriel Jesus who will likely reclaim his spot as first choice no. 9 when he returns from his injury later this month.
But by all accounts, Balogun’s season away with Reims has been nothing short of breath-taking. In order to have outscored the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, and Neymar, you simply have to be having a breath-taking season.
Balogun is not just any another academy graduate at Arsenal. Just like Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe before him, the 21-year-old is clearly special. And if you want a little bit of evidence to back up his statement, just look at his non-penalty expected goal rate. 0.65/90. He is right up there with the very best in Europe, and he’s only 21.
And the fantastic thing about his NPxG production is that it indicates Balogun’s form is sustainable. This isn’t a flash in the pan season. He is scoring for fun, and if the data is anything to go by, he will continue to do so.
Not all academy graduates make ‘the leap’ at the same time. Bukayo Saka burst onto the scene instantly, but he’s a freak. Balogun’s development can be considered more similar to Eddie Nketiah’s and Emile Smith Rowe’s. He’s needed to move elsewhere to reach his next gear, but he evidently possesses just as much potential as those aforementioned.
Some are suggesting Arsenal should entertain a big bid if it comes in for Balogun this summer, but they need to be careful. His production in the forward line for French minnows Reims has been truly elite.
Someone might need to pinch me, I’m just beginning to imagine what he could do with the likes of Martin Ødegaard, Bukayo Saka, and Gabriel Martinelli in and around him…
The staff at Arsenal need to take a long, hard look at Balogun when he returns from this loan spell. He is special. And if his talent proves difficult to ignore, there could be some difficult decisions to make in the Gunners’ forward line next season.
Oh, what a truly wonderful problem to have.
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