Folarin Balogun's loan spell with Stade de Reims couldn't be going much better than it is right now. The 21-year-old currently sits ahead of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar at the top of the Ligue 1 scoring charts with a phenomenal 14 goals in just 21 appearances.
While this of course great news for Arsenal it does create something of a dilemma for Mikel Arteta. Both Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus have been superb for the Gunners this season, and show no signs of leaving any time soon, so where exactly would Balogun fit in the squad if and when he comes back from France?
Do Arsenal sell now and risk missing out on the spoils of a highly talented youngster, or do they keep and try to use him next campaign? Here football.london's Arsenal writers have their say on what promises to be a tricky dilemma for the Gunners this summer.
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Tom Canton - Arsenal writer
Folarin Balogun is a problem. A great problem to have, but certainly a problem nonetheless. The striker on loan with Reims has far exceeded expectation and built massively on the successes he experienced in the Championship last season with Middlesbrough.
With Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah, Arsenal have two very good strikers and the latter has done so well since becoming the starter for the second time in the space of the year that even Jesus will have to battle to get back in, so what chance will Balogun have?
Therefore, we have to be sensible should a strong offer arrive. Big clubs lose good players and continue to have great success and with the Gunners fighting again to be amongst the elite, they too will lose players that many never imagined might depart.
Balogun could be the first of a string of surprise exits. However, sporting director Edu needs to be looking to get top money for the player with the potential of a serious sell-on or even a buy-back clause; but I would be expectant of upwards of £40million being demanded, maybe significantly more.
Tashan Deniran-Alleyne - Arsenal writer
I do feel Folarin Balogun's loan spell in France is the dream scenario for all parties involved. His first proper taste of senior football has seen him go head-to-head with none other than Kylian Mbappe for the Ligue 1 top scorer award and that even in itself is some achievement.
Of course, when he returns his valuation will most likely be very high and with that comes the temptation to cash in, especially as fans can point to Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah being ahead of him in the pecking order to lead the line for Arsenal next season.
But for me, Balogun has shown enough to be part of Mikel Arteta's plans for the 2023/24 campaign. He's more of a natural goalscorer than Jesus, for example, and there is no reason why he can't challenge the Brazilian as well as his fellow Hale End graduate for a starting berth. After all, competition makes everyone better.
Admittedly, I haven't seen a great deal of Balogun at Reims but I did catch his performance against Paris Saint-Germain the other night and noticed an improvement in his all-round game compared to last season at Arsenal and the last-minute goal was the icing on the cake.
As Arsenal look well set to be back in the Champions League next season, there should be opportunities for Balogun and keeping him would hand Arteta some serious depth in attack.
Kaya Kaynak - Chief Arsenal writer
This is a really hard one to make a decision on. If Arsenal sell this summer, they could risk losing a generational talent, but then again if they keep him and he doesn't play, Balogun's development could stagnate next season. Personally I feel like there's a solution somewhere in between the two that could be found.
If I were Edu, I think I would look to sell in the summer, but on the proviso that some sort of buyback option or first refusal is inserted into the deal. In this instance, Arsenal get the benefit of allowing their player to continue playing, without the risk of potentially missing out on him when he hits his peak. Also, should Eddie Nketiah or Gabriel Jesus decide to move on in the future, then they will have a ready-made replacement.
In reality though, these deals are not always easy to pull off, and that is why we see so few of them. Arsenal would need to find a club willing to accept these terms, and it would have to be one that Balogun would be willing to go to.
If they could do that though, then the buyback route seems like the most sensible one to go down for me. Balogun seems like someone who will go on to be a star, and Arsenal don't want to miss out on his best years which are ahead of him.
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