Former Arsenal star Folarin Balogun has detailed his relationship with the Gunners after moving to Monaco in the summer.
The 22-year-old sealed a £34million move to the French club after an impressive loan spell at Stade de Reims, where he scored 22 goals in 39 games
The USA international, who joined Arsenal’s academy aged 10, opted for a permanent move to France, rather than being on the fringes of Mikel Arteta’s squad.
Balogun made only two starts for Arsenal’s first team before being snapped up by Monaco. The young forward has scored eight goals and registered five assists in 25 games so far in his debut season.
Monaco sit third in Ligue 1 and Balogun is hopeful of qualifying for the Champions League, following in the footsteps of his former Arsenal teammates.
The striker may have left the Gunners in search of regular football but is still backing the club to win the Premier League trophy for the first time in 20 years.
“I give them my support [in the title race],” he told Get French Football News [via the Mirror]. “I still speak with a lot of them and when I’m in London we still go out for food. There is a good relationship there.
“I have also asked them about their experience playing in the Champions League, having been out of it for so long, and they’ve said that it is something that you would want to experience and something that is almost a once-in-a-lifetime experience so I’m looking forward to hopefully being a part of it. It’s amazing that I have the opportunity with Monaco.
“It is something that I’ve seen lots of my friends play in and they say that their feelings and the things they have experienced are unimaginable. I would love to be lining up before the game, and hearing that music. That’s the motivation to get it done this season.”
Balogun’s move to Monaco was just shy of Arsenal’s record sale when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Liverpool for £35m in 2017.
However, the fee that took Balogun to Monaco could increase in time after Arsenal agreed a sell-on clause. It is reported that if Monaco choose to cash in on the striker the Gunners will receive 17.5% of the transfer sum.
Monaco have built a reputation of selling their star players for huge transfer fees, such as Bernardo Silva, Fabinho and James Rodriguez.
Arsenal will hope that Balogun’s time at the club will follow a similar trajectory and possibly boost the club’s finances in the future.
