Supporters of Premier League giants Arsenal have taken to social media in their numbers this evening, to send a crystal clear message to boss Mikel Arteta regarding the future of U23 standout Folarin Balogun.
Balogun, a highly-regarded young striker, is currently locked in action, in a Premier League 2 meeting with Derby County.
Kevin Betsy’s U23s welcomed the Rams to Meadow Park sitting pretty atop the table, and no doubt brimming with confidence on the back of a hard-fought 3-2 downing of Blackburn Rovers earlier in the week.
As things stand, however, Arsenal look well on their way to being knocked off their perch at the top of the PL2 summit.
This comes with an alarming defensive display to date having left the Gunners in a 2-goal hole, amid a remarkable 8-goal thriller in north London.
All of Louie Sibley (2), Luke Plange and Connor Dixon have added to Ryan Alebiosu’s own goal, to send the visitors into the closing ten minutes on Friday night boasting a healthy advantage.
Goal for Derby – scored by Sibley
🔴 2-5 ⚪️ (56) | #PL2 🏆
— Arsenal Academy (@ArsenalAcademy) November 26, 2021
Despite Derby having the upper hand as things stand, however, it is in fact one of Arsenal’s young stars who has stolen the headlines to this point in proceedings at Meadow Park.
The player in question? The aforementioned Balogun.
20-year-old Balogun has of course been handed the occasional chance to impress in Arsenal’s first-team setup over the early months of the campaign, but ultimately struggled amid the rough and tumble nature of the senior game.
At U23 level, however, the prolific hitman has continued to prove himself as simply on another level to the rest of Kevin Betsy’s talented squad.
A stunning hat-trick versus Derby this evening has taken Balogun’s tally for the campaign to 14 goals across just 10 Premier League 2 outings, the kind of production which has culminated in a fresh clamour amongst the Gunners fanbase.
As showcased below, those of an Arsenal persuasion have taken to social media in their absolute numbers on Friday, to plead with Mikel Arteta and co. to farm the club’s explosive young attacker out on loan upon the opening of the January transfer window:
He needs to go on loan in January 🔴⚪️
— Mike (@Mike79705823) November 26, 2021
Loan him in January !! Must go championship or bundesliga
— Lukas K. Hastrup (@LPDK_Tweeter) November 26, 2021
Loan in Jan is a must, him at this level is a cheat code!!
— Seb (@afcxseb) November 26, 2021
Get this man a championship loan
— evan 》 (@afcevan) November 26, 2021
Hat-trick for Balogun tonight for the U23s. He really needs to get out on loan in January. https://t.co/uj7AhJA4Kd
— Charles Watts (@charles_watts) November 26, 2021
He needs a loan. Far to good for this level now.
— Jack Porter (@chunder_jack) November 26, 2021
Get this kid on loan, he is far too good for PL2.
— Fergus Pateman (@ferguspateman) November 26, 2021
Hopefully Balogun gets a loan move in January because this level is far too easy for him now.
— Gurjit (@GurjitAFC) November 26, 2021
Seriously, get Folarin Balogun up to Grimsby for meaty challenges on a Tuesday night. He’s far too good for this level.
January loan imperative.
— Pain In The Arsenal (@PainInThArsenal) November 26, 2021
Two for Balogun. Get this guy on loan please @Arsenal. As stated previously, he’s not learning anything new currently in the U23’s. Hopefully in January, he manages to secure senior first team football until the end of the season, as that’s what will further aid his development.
— RohanJivan (@RjArsenalBlog) November 26, 2021
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 11 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 7 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 7 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 6 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Cornet, Maxwel | Burnley FC | 5 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 5 |
| Sarr, Ismaila | Watford FC | 5 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 4 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 4 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 4 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 4 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 4 |
| King, Joshua | Watford FC | 4 |
| Smith-Rowe, Emile | Arsenal FC | 4 |
| Benteke, Christian | Crystal Palace | 4 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 4 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace | 4 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 4 |