Mikel Arteta communicates with Folarin Balogun over his future with Arsenal

Mikel Arteta has made hints that the long-term contract Folarin Balogun signed last year shows the club’s confidence in his capacity to become a fixture in the first squad at Arsenal.

Nearly a year ago, the England Under-21 striker signed a new contract, putting an end to months of rumors that he was planning to quit his childhood club on a lucrative free transfer.

It was believed that Balogun’s development would be best served by another stint away from his parent club after his loan to Middlesbrough for the second part of last season didn’t quite work out.

The 21-year-old has had a standout season with Reims, where he has already scored 14 goals. He also currently tops the Ligue 1 scoring table, surpassing players like Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi.

When asked if Balogun’s swift advancement shocked him, Arteta responded, “So thrilled for him. He is a young man who has a very distinct career goal in mind.

‘Really ambitious, really committed and he’s really brave. We discussed before whether it was the right place to go [on loan to Reims] and other choices that he had. He was so convinced and I’m really happy for him because he deserves what he’s getting.

I’m very pleased and obviously when you look at the numbers and what he’s doing it’s just incredible, and very rare to see that.

‘But he’s got something special, that’s why we gave him a long-term contract and have faith in him and give him the long period that he’s having now, because the period he’s having now is different to the one before at Middlesbrough. But that one was very necessary to see the outcome that he’s having now.’

Regarding the American-born striker’s difficult but ultimately crucial time at Middlesbrough, Arteta continued: ‘He had some scars from that period. There were moments when he suffered, moments where he played, moments where he didn’t play, moments where he played but he believed he wasn’t in his best position and throw all the excuses out.

‘It’s a proper experience to add to the next one. That’s what he did, put that behind him but using what worked for him, what didn’t work for him, look in the mirror and go to the next one.’

Opportunities for Balogun may be even harder to come by at Arsenal next season given that Gabriel Jesus has established himself as the team’s top striker and that Eddie Nketiah has improved this season.

Although a number of clubs have already expressed interest in him, Arteta insists that a decision about his future won’t be made until the summer.

‘The plan is that he finishes his period there, assess the situation where he is, where we are, then sit down and plan the next chapter in his developing career,’ said Arteta.