Arsenal 'have no plans to recall Folarin Balogun'

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 14 December 2022

Arsenal reportedly have no intention of recalling Folarin Balogun from his loan spell at Reims in January, despite the serious knee injury to Gabriel Jesus.

Arsenal reportedly have no plans to recall Folarin Balogun from his Reims loan spell in January as they prepare to cope with the absence of injured striker Gabriel Jesus.

The Brazil international hit the ground running at the Emirates after leaving Manchester City in a £45m deal, scoring five goals and setting up seven more prior to the World Cup break.

Jesus played second fiddle to Tottenham Hotspur's Richarlison in the early stages of the 2022 World Cup, but he was handed a place in the first XI for their final Group G clash with Cameroon.

However, Jesus lasted just over an hour before being taken off with a serious knee injury, and he was forced to undergo an operation to correct the problem after withdrawing from Qatar.

Arsenal have not publicly disclosed Jesus's recovery timeline, but the 25-year-old is widely expected to spend around three months out, leaving Eddie Nketiah to shoulder the attacking burden over the rest of the winter.

Gabriel Jesus in action for Brazil on December 2, 2022 © Reuters

Arsenal reportedly had no plans to sign a new striker in January, with a new midfielder and winger believed to be the priorities at the moment, but Mikel Arteta and Edu's hand may be forced given the injury to Jesus.

The Gunners allowed Balogun to join Reims on loan in the summer, and the 21-year-old has lit up Ligue 1 with eight goals and two assists from his first 15 appearances in the French top flight.

Only five players - Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Terem Moffi, Alexandre Lacazette and Jonathan David - have scored more in the 2022-23 Ligue 1 season, and there has been speculation that Arsenal could terminate his Reims stint early to cover for the injured Jesus.

However, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano claims that Arsenal do not intend to bring Balogun back to North London next month, and he is expected to remain in France for the entirety of the 2022-23 season.

Romano says that the Premier League leaders have not held any discussions over the possibility of recalling the 21-year-old, who is yet to make his mark with the Arsenal first team.

Folarin Balogun in action for Arsenal in August 2021 © Reuters

Despite enjoying a spate of prolific seasons at Under-18 and Under-21 level, Balogun has only scored two goals and set up one more in 10 senior matches for Arsenal in all competitions.

All three of those direct goal contributions came in the 2020-21 Europa League, and he has made just two appearances in the Premier League in last season's opening defeats to Brentford and Chelsea.

Following a 2-1 victory over AC Milan on Tuesday, which saw Arsenal win the friendly Dubai Super Cup, Arteta confirmed that he would be "very active" over the winter as he looks for ways to improve the squad.

"We are looking and we are very active looking at the possibilities. If we can find the players that can strengthen the team we will try," Arteta told the press.

Shakhtar Donetsk's Mykhaylo Mudryk is understood to be Arsenal's principal target for the January window, and the Gunners are also rumoured to be leading the race to sign unsettled Atletico Madrid attacker Joao Felix.