Folarin Balogun trained away from the rest of his teammates as Arsenal held an open training session at the LA Rams’ training base at Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks, northern Los Angeles.
The striker, 22, featured for the Gunners against the MLS All-Stars on Thursday but didn’t come off the bench against Manchester United on Saturday evening despite Mikel Arteta hinting the player would get further opportunities to play in pre-season.
Balogun has recently been heavily linked with a move to Inter Milan with the Italian giants said to be keen on loaning him with an obligation to buy next summer.
Both Kaya Kaynak of Football.London and Jordan Campbell of The Athletic, write that Balogun didn’t take part in the full session with the rest of Mikel Arteta’s first team squad but was put through his paces by a fitness coach. We have to assume he has a knock of some sort.
They also report that Oleksandr Zinchenko trained alone, although, in the Ukrainian’s case, it’s known he’s trying to recover from a calf injury that has bothered him since the tail-end of the last campaign.
Arsenal conclude their USA tour with a fixture against Barcelona at SoFi Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Smoke and fire? Or smoke and mirrors?
Sounds like he’s leaving. Not a surprise.
But who is better? Bet him and Nketiah?
Neither honestly have showed that they can lead the line for our team at the moment. Eddie did it for a bit.
Good question….Arteta sees them all in training and probably knows better….we needed to bring in money after all the purchasing so selling a valuable asset was inevitable at some point… the player himself appears to be feisty and disruptive….won’t get as many minutes with Gabriel Jesus,nketiah and Kai havertz able to play centre forward….I hear the coaches complained about his hold up play during his loan….well,we scored as many goals as any arsenal team in premier League history without him….I like the idea of keeping him but our books were bound to start balancing sooner than later… I’ll rather him… Read more »
Would prefer him as no 2 striker over Nketiah or Havertz. Arsenal do need a more prolific goal scorer at No 9 so would not be surprised if another forward is signed if he goes.
We only scored 5 goals less than City last season, with our problems coming at the other end of the pitch. In the last 10 games (after we lost Saliba and Tomyassu), we conceded 15 goals. With only 25 goals conceded in the 28 games before then. So major additions to the attacking end of the pitch seems unnecessary, especially with a few more coming from Havertz and a full season of Trossard. At the other end, more defensive cover seems really urgent.
I really don’t understand how anyone could fail to see this. Even with Gabriel Jesus injured for a significant part of the season, we scored a lot of goals. As for the defensive cover, developing Kiwior, adding Timber (which means he, White, or Tomiyasu can all play Saliba’s position), and having Rice as a reliable 6 is a big improvement.
The team overall scored a lot, but our No 9s also missed a lot of chances. Both Jesus and Nketiah have their attributes but they are not prolific and Havertz underwhelmed at centre forward at Chelsea. This is an area that needs improving if Arsenal want to win the league.
Or fire and mirrors?
Water and glass.
smoke and smoke
Sausage and mash.
Pipe and hash
ubwabwa na maharage
What and TheFuck [are we even doing]?
Cloak and dagger😄
Salt & vinegar?
Piss & vinegar.
Chalk & cheese?
Hall & Oates
Fire and Ice
Well, Flo didn’t play in front of the largest US crowd Arsenal just did.
That is brand damaging.
Wondering what might have been said in this interim since– which sequestered Flo away from the squad…
Brand damaging for Flo? You think he threw a wobbly?
It seems that he maybe has that potential in him. Super confident, but maybe too quick to make demands of the manager etc. Maybe.
I remember on Arsecast a suggestion being made that there may be some amount of ‘testing’ from the manager to see how he would respond to adversity/disappointment.
Perhaps he has failed the test.
Or perhaps we are putting 2+2 together and getting 5.
Fucking hell mate.
You should work for the Daily Mirror. 😂
Ha, it was a bit of a jump there wasn’t it.
Have been getting some vibes like that from him though.
If we sell, I still think we need another striker. Unless ESR or Kai being used as a false 9 to backup Jesus and Eddie…
I don’t think a 3rd choice striker is on Arsenal’s priority list, especially when we got Martinelli, Trossard, and Havertz as emergency alternatives.
I liked Trossard as a striker, brings the best out of our other players
Not sure why Jesus was automatically back in the team last season at Trossard’s expense. We had a winning formula and should’ve persisted with it.
On one hand: yes.
But on the other: Jesus ended the season as our statistically best player. Even if you compare him one vs one with the best strikers in the league (considering the time he had to miss due to the injury) – I think only Haaland, Kane, and Salah were ahead of him…
he would have been 2nd choice initially and competing with jesus for a starting spot – we need martinelli on the wing and havertz was brought in to play amf i think. nketiah needs to be sold asap. he is not good enough to be a backup. city has haaland and alvarez, chelsea have jackson and nkunku, liverpool have nunez and gakpo, we really need balogun. arteta please make this happen, please don’t sell him to inter for 35. we bought viera for 35 and letting go of balogun for anything less than 70/80 while keeping faith with eddie seems… Read more »
Mbappe seems to be available
Ya only €300 million transfer fee and €700 million wages per year. Surely we have that
Takes state sponsored to a whole new level
Stan could afford that – he can just put even more people on minimum wage at Walmart!
We could sell our yellow kit?
For €300 million and 1.
And then he leaves on a free to Madrid. If Stan needs to bolster his reputation as a philanthropist, this would do it.
Open the vault of the ranch Stan. Might be tough though, Josh needs another ivory beard comb.
A very expensive troublemaker, no thanks.
He will only be happy if he lands in Madrid. Any other team approaching him should win CL, otherwise, he will be making troubles and aiming for somewhere else. Having said that, on a personal development point of view, he should come to PL to compete with Haaland, if he dares to.
A loan with an obligation to buy would be so demoralising. It would highlight the fact that while recruitment has been absolutely exemplary, we’re still a long long way away from where we need to be when it comes to selling
honestly, WTF is a loan with obligation to buy anyway? “We’re a bit skint now, but next year we’ll have money for sure!”
It feels a bit like all it will take is a team saying, “nah, sorry take backsies. The lad is all yours. Thanks for the loan though, no hard feelings, eh?” And this joke of a transfer mechanism will come crashing down.
It might not be that different from a regular deal, as most transfer fees are paid in installments anyways?
This stuff is very common in Italy, as are buyback clauses and long payment terms. They aren’t flush with TV money, so they struggle to comply with FFP
So buy the player and spread the money out over multiple years… 🤷🏽♀️
Sometimes the obligation is contingent–Monza had an obligation to buy Pablo Mari unless they were relegated.
Not really, literally all it does is help the buying club comply with FFP by shifting the purchase into next years accounts. They’re still agreeing to buy the player for £X amount.
We’re still getting the same fee – probably more in fact because they could afford less right now – and the actual payment terms likely aren’t any different anyway, because they would be spread over many years regardless.
Would be sad if that means he’s being sold, it’s not so often you raise a player who’s an Arsenal Academy graduate through and through and who clearly has the talent to play for us at the highest levels. But if that’s what’s happening I’m guessing it’s because he’s forced our hand by not being willing to stay, extend his contract and compete for a place in the team instead of being guaranteed one.
I’ve backed him so much and loved watching the Reims highlights last year, but I think maybe I’ve finally shifted to the ‘sell him and move on’ camp. 2 months ago I was more excited about him coming back and competing for minutes at Arsenal than about any other new signings. But his tweets and comments have shifted from giving me the sense he’s a strong willed young man who is desperate to play at a high level, to thinking he isn’t a team player or a good fit for Arteta’s low-ego team first approach. If that’s the case and… Read more »
Agreed. He scored a lot of goals in France. Watching the highlight reel not many of those were great finishes that makes me believe he will smash it in the premier league.
Undoubtedly a talent but we are trying to topple a side that just won the treble. We haven’t got room to gamble on largely unproven potential.
So why did we sign Havertz then?
We will take £50mil for Flo.
After loan or straight transfer
It’s probably a combination of both: Arteta don’t think he’s a huge improvement on Eddie; and he has more suitors and a higher market value than Eddie.
“Huge improvement on Eddie?” We don’t know that for sure, do we? 20 goals in the French league, outscored by Alexander Laccazette. So, we can’t be certain how he’s going to fare in the PL. And after 200 mill spent, we’ll be needing some funds to come the other direction. Makes sense to sell now while his stock is still so high. Of course, there’s a chance we might come to regret it, but all transfer decisions carry some measure of risk.
Read Mentalista’s post again.
That means Eddie stays 😰
Am I the only one that thinks Eddie did alright when called on last season?
He’s started all 3 pre season games and I don’t think he had a shot on target. The Eddie copes continue to confuse me, he’s clearly not up to it.
That’s harsh. Think he’s played enough for us that we know what we’re getting. Strange to judge him on preseason when he’s had periods where he started in the last 2 seasons & done will when starting.
WHich, if you think about it, creates exactly the same problem that many are ‘alleging’ with Flo. Eddie only seems to score when he starts – his record as an impact sub is very, very poor. So Flo wants to start… Eddie needs to start. Eddie is more of a known quantity – having had a decent run last season, where his sub-scoring problems persisted. Do we stick with the established problem and spend another season trying to rectify Eddie? Or do we take a chance that Flo can translate his France form into the more demanding EPL. I’d bet… Read more »
He did alright when he started last season. Problem is he’s not a starter and he hasn’t scored coming off the bench. So there’s that.
Can’t argue with that. Shame, as he surprised me when he came in last season. Thought his over all game improved & he was still scoring consistently when starting. We will be playing loads of matches this season though.
Exactly why I’d choose Flo at this point – see my comment just above here.
Eddie has had a decent chance to sort out his issues as a ‘blunt’ substitute. Flo has not – so surely we need to give him that same opportunity before just shunting him out?
he had to replaced by trossard so he didn’t do alright consistently
True but I think you could say that about most of the team at some point during the season.
Personally I’m happy with the part he plays in the squad.
He’s Danny welbeck 2.0…except Danny was better.
Not if his being there this season costs us the opportunity to see if Flo can live up to his obvious potential. It’s another Gnabry waiting to bite us on the… ‘Arse’.
Eddie did really good, Trossard did a bit better. Just the way it is supposed to happen with a deep squad of team players.
Zinchenko la still recovering?! It’s been 2 months already for fuck’s sake
HE’S BEHIND ON HIS FITNESS, THATS ALL. HE IS TRAINING WITH THE PERSONAL FITNESS COACH TO CATCH UP WITH THE OTHERS ON THEIR LEVEL. HE IS NOT BEING SOLD AS ARSENAL NOW VALUE HIM AT £60 Million.
I wasn’t sure about your points, but when you put them all in caps, I became convinced.
Who let Brick Tamland in here?
Haha…
HE IS LEAVING?
Makes ALL the difference, doesn’t it?
Alright mate, no need to shout.
ITK
Fuck this loan bollocks. If they want him, then they can cough the fuck up.
£50m At least.
You tell ’em, Q. You tell ’em.
I just had this wonderful flash mental-image of Q striding into the Milan boardroom (in his 2004 Bergkamp shirt) and interrupting their mid-morning espressos with:
‘A l’ora, Signori – fuck this loan bollocks! You want Flo-issimo? Then cough the fuck up… pronto!’
Arsenal play with more emphasis on the wide players scoring than a single striker in the middle. We may never get another opportunity to get so much for Balogun, as our style probably wouldn’t afford him 20 goals in a season.
There is also a fine line between being enthusiastic to start and irritating the manager.
Maybe he’s just taken a knock 🤷🏻♂️ and a striker is most definitely not a priority imo wether balogun stays or not!, Scoring goals is not a problem for this current crop!
Did we win though?
Sorry what’s your point?
We can sell Havertz. Some team just bought him for 60 million despite the fact he can’t score. Surely after pre-season he’s worth 70 million.
He is tall though.
Very
Isn’t anyone else a tad worried that we still haven’t got an out and out prem experienced striker to come off the bench for a plan b?…& please don’t say Eddie.