Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has declared his happiness with how Folarin Balogun's loan spell at Championship promotion chasers Middlesbrough is going - and has labelled the Teessiders as a club with a 'huge history'.

Balogun stepped up from under-23's football halfway through this season after netting 13 times in 11 outings in the Premier League 2 competition for the Gunners and he's been getting his chance in the second tier under Chris Wilder.

The 20-year-old has only featured twice for Arsenal in the Premier League but has 10 senior appearances in all competitions in total, and Arteta was keen to see how the USA-born youngster handled himself in the EFL.

 

 

 

 

In his 15 appearances for Boro so far, Balogun has scored twice and assisted two goals as well - it's not the kind of tally he will be satisfied with though and he will be hoping for more goals between now and the end of the season.

Despite the low goals return, Arteta is satisfied with Balogun's development at the Riverside Stadium and believes he has a big future at the Emirates Stadium in the future - and the Spaniard also reserved some praise for Middlesbrough as well.

"I think Flo is doing what he needed to do, and probably we should have done it a little bit earlier," Arteta said, per the Arsenal official website.

"It is always a bit difficult to time when is the best moment to do that.

"But he’s having the right exposure, he’s playing in a different formation and sometimes a different role under a manager and a club with a huge history.

"You can see how he is developing, so this is giving us information. This is going to give us more detail about what is the next best move for him to keep developing, because he has (developed) and we want him to be part of our future."

The Verdict

The two strikers in Wilder's system are important as they will always get chances thanks to the attacking nature of his style of play, so in that sense Balogun will be disappointed no doubt at his current goal return.

But he has been lively in other aspects of his game and he needs to keep up the efforts as there is strong competition for places at the Riverside.

There was a lot of expectation on his shoulders for this loan stint due to his reputation at Arsenal, but he seems to be coping with the pressure well.

A play-off campaign could be in Balogun's sights if Boro finish the season well, and that will give him a further platform to impress and potentially catch Arteta's eye with a view to being in Arsenal's squad next season.