Balogun as I don’t think he will ever be worth more than he is this summer and I’m not convinced there is a huge difference between them.
3 Likes
I’ve always liked Nketiah because he’s got goals at international and club level and was the highest scoring young England player, so probably best to keep him as cover.
But unless a club offer 40m or more I’d keep both.
Balogun because he said he dosnt want to ride the bench all season and because he will ride the bench all season. And anyone who thinks his value will go higher having rode the bench all season is delusional.
2 Likes
Balogun the far more complete player so I voted to sell Eddie.
Although it’s true Balogun will fetch more money and also Eddie is happier to ride the pine.
1 Like
What makes Balogun the far more complete player? Haven’t seen much of him at all
I think he just has more to his game than Eddie who more or less is a fox in the box.
In saying that I’m only judging off snippets in the French league and the French league can be a false economy at times.
1 Like
I’d keep Balogun. It’s the riskier option for sure. Potential to be a higher ceiling than Nketiah. But equally he could really struggle as a backup option and fail to perform with limited minutes. A gamble.
With Eddie we know what we’re going to get. Roughly 1 in 2 but nothing spectacular. The team around him need to be pitching in with goals to sustain a winning run. But we kept winning with him in the side when Jesus was injured. He’s more proven in this current Arsenal team and under this manager.
Weighing both up, I’d still go for the lad who has banged 21 league goals in a top 5 league at 21 years of age. Nketiah is 24 and has never got close to that number. Balogun has the potential to give us sensational depth and quality in the squad. Nketiah gives us good depth and quality.
3 Likes
The thing that intrigues people with Balogun is the unknown factor really. Personally, that’s one of the reasons I lean towards keeping Nketiah. Nketiah has been here with Arteta since the start. He knows his demands very well and has shown progress throughout, even made a bit of a comeback when his career here looked done.
I think Nelson’s retention had similar rationale behind it.
Balogun has no interest in competing for a spot at the minute and wants to be a starter somewhere. He also has a tricky contract situation too. It makes it easier to choose him to be the one to go.
Ideally they’ll both be evaluated in preseason and keep the one who shows more promise and can deliver better results now, but I feel like that ship may have sailed.
4 Likes
I’d prefer Balogun stayed. There seems to be a strong desire from him to succeed. He doesn’t look like a player to get 1 goal and just sit happy, he wants to press on.
He’s also much younger than Eddie and likely has a much higher ceiling too.
I feel like if we lose him too soon, without it playing meaningful games for Arsenal we’ll regret it more than he will.
All it takes is a few months of Jesus missing sitters or an injury for us to be stuck with… Eddie.
Not bad if we’re competing for top 8 or top 6. But for the league? No, we need to keep our best players, Balogun looks like a better player from what I’ve seen.
1 Like
Arsenal finally have a top CF prospect who has broken through in a top league and people would sell instead Eddie?
The Balogun ceiling is much higher than Eddie and his mentality is better too
1 Like
I reckon if we took Eddie and put him in a half decent French team he’d have a 20+ goal season too.
7 Likes
Difficult to argue against when considering the damage Lacazette was able to do last season
4 Likes
Pretty much had my defence at the ready lol
3 Likes
If we sell Balogun hopefully we’re able to insert a buy back clause would probably have to be 70odd mill though.
1 Like
I doubt at age 21/22 he hits 20 plus in a bottom half ligue 1 team, that’s the difference between him and Balogun who established himself as a one of the promising CF in Europe under 23, there literally aren’t other guys under 23 putting similar numbers up in other euro leagues. I think people are really underestimating how impressive his season with Reims was.
The laca point isnt even relevant either (its very dismissive too), he’s a very experienced CF in his peak playing in a league and for a club he’s very familiar with just coming off years of playing in the PL for a top club. That’s as warmed up as you can get to do well compared to Balogun who had no real top level experience yet consistently produced goals at 22 in a new system and foreign country in a team with barely any talent which is basically as cold a start you can get.
2 Likes
Balogunner seems to have way more to his game, much more comfortable on the ball and less of a poacher (although this is a plus point for Eddie).
Im not massively fussed which one goes but I’d be more worried about Balogun going on to be a hit somewhere else than I would with Eddie. I think we’ve seen what we get with Eddie.
I’d also not be against selling both for 40m a piece if we got the offers and buying a known quantity.
1 Like
That sounds good to me, both go for £40m, and the buy Vlahovic for £80m
1 Like
Out of curiosity, has anyone checked him out this season in a game(rather than highlights)?
Balo or vlahovic?
Does that mean Eddie wants to compete for the staring spot?
Or is he good enough?
I’d say Balogun is more realistic… as the team has Jesus as number one striker, and Kai/Tross can slot in anytime and it will be tough for him to get play time there. Three established senior international players are there.
To say Balogun not willing to compete for the spot, is probably the same as saying Eddie has no intention to look for other opportunities but happy to be a “back up”.
2 Likes