Sheffield is a small club, that’s why.
There’s also a pattern with the lads you’ve mentioned and where they play. Balogun is a striker so he’s essentially competing with Auba, Laca and Nketiah. Much tougher competition. Plus, they’ve been relatively fit or available most of the time.
Because we were lacking creatively. Not sure how Balogun would have helped with that.
This is the same attitude that saw us lose Gnabry for peanuts and saw United lose Pogba for peanuts.
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Yeah, they will and yet he’ll most likely he’ll play there more than he is here.
You’re talking about bullying as if he has a shit attitude, refusing to train or whatever. No reason why he should be patient when he’s been dicked around already.
I’ll always respect a player that leaves a big club to seek to play rather than take the easy money whilst getting no look in.
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Arsenal prides itself on giving chances and developing young and/or youth players. That is why I never understand the line of thought that we’re a big club so it’s more difficult for younger players. It’s supposed to be part our of make up. Not of Sheffield’s.
The competition is tougher. But if we are genuine about giving him chances Arteta would have found a way. But we aren’t. Hence he’s leaving.
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Regarding this, the only comparison that I can make is in relation to the national team. Nelson, AMN and Nketiah have all been performing for the U20 and U21. Saka would be the only one of the youngsters playing who only recently broke into the U20 and U21 like Balogun. This experience does matter.
For me, the only way this is relevant is if you’re looking at Brewster. He was seen as a very promising youngster at Liverpool. Now granted they have the players to keep him out. Then he had that penalty miss. But instead of staying and learning from the players at Liverpool he opted to move to Sheffield and so far it isn’t looking great. He’s young and there is still time, but he hasn’t proven that he deserves to be a starting striker. Now his performances may be about time and the players around him, but then gain, going anywhere with top players, many of the young strikers won’t get regular chances.
But the other attitude is to keep them for unreasonably long, a la Bentdner and Owusu-Abeyie
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That would be true if he was regularly starting for us or blocking others having a chance which he is doing neither of. This attitude applies to Eddie and Nelson more than anything right now. Had their chances. Theyre shit let’s try some others out
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Is this kid any good and is it worth pinning our hopes on another youngster ?
I can’t see it myself as Martinelli seems to be the real deal … providing he can stay fit .
Regardless of whether he will or will not turn out to be world class, it’s frustrating to not be able to get a fair fee because we’ve let his contract run down to 6 months. Absolute clowns.
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I believe we asked 15m for him last summer and no team was willing to spend that.
I think Brentford offered 5m?
Balogun is a smart kid, he wants to ensure he doesn’t get the Saliba treatment. Probably best for his career to distance himself from Arteta and this club.
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I think you’re right.
He has seen what has happened to players that Arteta doesn’t favour being almost ostracised.
There are a few players in front of him in the pecking order and Arteta seems to prefer Martinelli and others to him.
He is worth keeping but, if there are so many other clubs after him then he might feel he is more wanted elsewhere, as well as more of a chance of first team football, which is obviously what he wants.
He said he wants to stay but after seeing team mates like Saliba and others get the Arteta treatment he has realised his playing will be limited here.
I just hope the club have the sense to have a sell on clause to avoid another Gnabry situation.
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The time has passed for us on Balogun. There were several opportunities where we could have given Balogun more game time, but instead favoured established members of the squad. Arsenal didn’t do enough to keep him involved.
Balogun’s seen how young players of a similar profile are getting valuable game time in other leagues and has bet on himself being able to get the same.
I think he joins Stuttgart and Mislintat personally and good luck to him.
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Realistically, the odds are very high that Balogun never amounts to anything special. The vast majority of youth players, even ones with impressive scoring records, never amount to anything special. He is far, far, far more likely to be the next Xavier Amaechi than the next Jadon Sancho.
Questions should still be raised, however, regarding why Arteta effectively chose Nketiah over him. I’ve seen enough of Eddie to know that he has a career ahead of him but will never be a top player. He just doesn’t have nearly enough in his locker. Balogun at least has a chance.
Nketiah was more advanced in his progress and probably much more trustworthy to do certain jobs that Arteta needed done, like come on for 20 minutes and press like hell in an organized way that fit the tactical concept. Nevertheless, its pretty clearly an instance of prioritizing a short term tactical need over the long term club interest. Managers do this all the time. But well-run clubs find ways to bring long term and short term interest into better alignment.
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Just like Gnabry?
:mustafi: 
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The players you mentioned, have been (and some still) completely shit for several months.
Balogun deserved a chance to prove himself in real games during this period, whether the rest are being fit or available or not.
Mustafi and Xhaka have been fit and available for decades, and should we start them, or even play them?
Too many games were guaranteed for the players who don’t deserved.
Now the shit cycle is back… Laca starts scoring some goals, Arsenal start winning some games… then Laca and Arteta should keep their jobs.
To be fair, players from his age group are getting plenty of minutes for Arsenal. Both Saka and if I am not wrong, Martinelli are younger than him, but have been able to cement their positions in the first team squad. If he’s truly elite, he’d have found minutes with the first team by now.
He’s an unproven 19 year old who has done well in his age bracket, but I don’t think any top club would let themselves get bullied by an u-21 player
He is unproven… I want to know where he got his chance to prove anything?
A run of games? Never.
This is English club come uppance for stealing young Spaniards during the 2000’s.
Fucking sucks though.
But if I’m being brutally honest here, if I’m 19, I’ve grown up in London and I have a host of foreign employers that want me and offer me the opportunity to gain the experience to make a good career I’d be gone, add to the opportunity to experience living abroad, I’d absolutely take it! So can’t really blame him.
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