During Folarin Balogun’s golden period, Eddie Nketiah experiences international frustrations and issues with his team role.
Folarin Balogun, a former Arsenal attacker, has been dubbed “one of the best players” by USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter due to his unique skill set that continues to shine for both club and country. In Wednesday morning’s rout of Ghana, Balogun scored for the United States once more.
After failing to persuade Mikel Arteta that he was deserving of a regular starting berth, Balogun was sold by Arsenal over the summer. He has already scored five goals this season and continued to shine over the international break. Balogun, who is in charge of the line for Berhalter’s team, contributed an assist in the hard-fought 3-1 loss to Germany before showcasing his talent most recently by scoring the opening goal against Ghana.
It continues his outstanding performance over the previous 12 months, during which time the Hale End graduate scored 22 goals for Stade de Reims in Ligue 1. He is one of the top young forwards in Europe at just 22 years old.
Most teams would do everything in their power to keep a player with Balogun’s caliber and promise, but Arsenal was willing to trade him right away. At the beginning of the 2022–23 season, it became clear that the player was unwilling to accept a rotating position at the Emirates Stadium, and focus shifted to alternative ideas.
Due to his form and conditioning, as well as the fact that Arteta’s plan did not include a spot for the current Monaco player, Balogun played very little throughout preseason. A few weeks later, he was finally sold, earning Arteta an additional £35 million ($42 million) and giving Balogun the opportunity to show why it could have been a mistake.
Now that Balogun is the center of attention and the player who was chosen ahead of him is still filling in as a backup, it is being questioned once more as to whether Arsenal made the right decision. When asked how significant Balogun has grown in a short period of time, American boss Berhalter responded, “You can tell guys were looking for him and that’s the most important thing.”
