Arsenal of England youngster, Folarin Balogun has gained a massive tip for regular game time next season with The Gunners.
This is the view of well-respected former Arsenal star, Kevin Campbell, who reckoned that the 19-year-old Balogun will upstage a couple of current young players in the squad, as he has proven that his level is higher than The Gunners’ youth teams.
Having ended the past campaign with double digits in goals for the fourth consecutive season, Campbell believes Balogun has come of age and predicted that the Nigerian-born lad will usurp Eddie Nketiah in the London club’s first team.
This verdict is coming two months after Balogun ended speculation about his future by signing a new deal that will run until June 2025 and Campbell believes the whiz-kid will impress Arsenal’s coach, Mikel Arteta during pre-season.
He went on to forecast that the Spaniard will promote Balogun permanently to the first team, especially with the crew at Arsenal willing to listen to offers for Nketiah if he refuses to sign a new deal with the club.
While acknowledging he cannot guarantee the future of Nketiah at Emirates Stadium, Campbell stressed that the main focus is now on Balogun, who made his debuts in the UEFA Europa League and Carabao Cup last season, with two goals to his name along the line.
Campbell said to Football Insider: “Now that Folarin Balogun has signed a new deal it is going to be difficult to get game time as a striker at Arsenal.
“He played a few games last season but he was never really a regular and I think Balogun will be the one that has that role in the first team next year.”
