The lead up to the Sunderland match in the Carabao Cup for Arsenal was dominated by the discussion surrounding how Folarin Balogun would show off his talents after bullying the under-23s league.
The answer quickly became clear that the expectation outranked the reality. The Arsenal youngster needs to get more experience at a senior level. In his few showings, he has had bright sparks but has been unable to convince the coaching staff his time is now.
However, the recent news regarding one of his youth teammates will come as a welcome boost to his future in the red and white of the Arsenal first team.
Dubbed the ‘next Zlatan Ibrahimovic,’ Nikolaj Moller is returning to the club after his 6-month loan spell with Viktoria Koln in Germany.
The Swedish striker, likened to his aforementioned compatriot due to his height, technique and the fact he hails from the same country, earned the move abroad thanks to his impressive debut season with the youth side.
Unfortunately, he struggled for form and fitness in the German third tier, and it is expected he will now reintegrate into the Arsenal youth side to cover Balogun’s imminent departure.
This therefore would unlock Balogun from his ties to the youth side for the foreseeable future.
The interest in the 20-year-old striker is considerable and football.london understands there are plenty of sides including Middlesbrough, Swansea City, Millwall and Saint-Etienne all holding a view to bringing the player in for the final months of the season.
When he returns from the prospective loan, turning 21 in July, the view will be for him to join up with the senior squad.
Mikel Arteta has spoken glowingly of the US-born England youth international and feels he is still going through the necessary phases of development that will help him reach the first team at the right time.
“We will see what happens,” the Arsenal boss said in October. “Again, with Flo we have a really clear project. The steps that he’s making, they are the right steps.
“Don’t forget he is really young, he hasn’t played almost any professional football, and you need to go through every phase – and don’t try to jump phases when you are not ready to do so.
“Again, I’m really happy with him, he’s making the right progress and in December we will see where we are and what’s the best for him as well.”
The games against Brentford, Chelsea and Sunderland proved Arteta correct in his assessment of the player but rightly has remained grounded upon his expectations of Balogun.
With the youth side stocked with Moller and Mika Biereth, the next phase, as Arteta describes it, is poised to commence.
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