Folarin Balogun hasn’t had the chances in pre-season at Arsenal that many expected him to.
The striker was coming off the back of an amazing season in Ligue 1 with Reims, and given his status in the USA, many believed he would play a key part in Arsenal’s pre-season tour of America.
However, he barely played in his country of birth due to an injury, but after Gabriel Jesus went down injured, many thought he could get his shot in the Community Shield.
On Sunday, Balogun was left out of the side completely, and many speculated that this was due to his previous injury problems.
According to Ryan Taylor, speaking on his YouTube channel, this isn’t the case. The journalist is led to believe that Balogun was indeed fit for Sunday’s game, but he just wasn’t picked.
Balogun was fit
Taylor shared what he knows about the £40m man.
“I’m told that Balogun was fit for the Community Shield, he hasn’t featured much in pre-season due to injury, but he just wasn’t selected by Mikel Arteta yesterday. We have seen that Arsenal’s depth has improved in the last few windows,” Taylor said.
“Balogun is deemed as a player who is more than likely to move on if the right offer arrives. The conversations I’ve had, a lot of the clubs interested in Balogun aren’t willing to go close to the figure Arsenal desire.”
This all but confirms that Balogun is never going to get a shot at Arsenal.
If you’re not going to throw your talented young striker in during pre-season or the Community Shield off the back of an incredible loan spell when your first-choice centre-forward is injured, when is he going to get a shot?
Sadly, for one reason or another, it doesn’t look as though Mikel Arteta is willing to take a punt on this young man, and it stands to reason to believe that he could well be on his way out of the Emirates in the coming weeks.
Don’t be shocked if Balogun leaves Arsenal sooner rather than later.