FOLARIN BALOGUN is ready to shine for Arsenal in the Premier
League after dazzling at Reims.
The striker scored 21 goals in Ligue 1 last season — and does not want
another loan away from the Emirates.
Ex-Gunners star and Nice midfielder Aaron Ramsey, who faced Balogun twice in France last term, reckons boss Mikel Arteta should keep hold of the 21-year-old.
Balogun — who has attracted interest from West Ham, Crystal Palace and RB Leipzig — swapped representing England for the USA in May but Ramsey does not want the £35million-rated forward to make a club move too.
The ace has a deal with Arsenal for another two years and is due to report back for pre-season next month.
Ramsey said: “He’s a very good player. We played against him a couple of times and, from what I saw, he’s a very exciting player.
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“Arsenal have many great players but he’s definitely got the quality. He’s good enough for the Premier League.”
Brazil striker Gabriel Jesus scored 11 in 33 Arsenal games following his £45million move from Manchester City and Eddie Nketiah bagged nine goals in 39 outings in all competitions.
The Gunners have agreed a £65m deal for Chelsea’s Kai Havertz while
Arteta’s side, who finished second in the Prem last season, are also battling City for Hammers star Declan Rice.
But Rambo — who won the FA Cup with the Gunners three times in 2014, 2015 and 2017 — reckons the fact they have tied stars Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli to new long-term deals is just as important as transfers.
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Influential defender William Saliba, 22, has also agreed a fresh contract in principle to remain in North London.
The strategy is different from Rambo’s 11-year stay at Arsenal when
the club lost key players such as Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Alexis Sanchez.
Ramsey, 32, added: “To get them to commit is massive. They have had unbelievable seasons and it’s great they will still be there, hopefully to kick on again.”
Ramsey is weighing up his own future, saying he would love to rejoin
boyhood club Cardiff ‘one day’ after failing to agree a new deal at Nice.
Talks between Ramsey and the French club are ongoing but the
Wales captain ruled out Saudi Arabia.
When asked if a big-money switch to Saudi would be of interest, Ramsey, speaking at the opening of Cruyff Court Aaron Ramsey at the Trinity Fields School near his home town of Caerphilly, he said: “No, there’s a lot more things to go on before that.”
“I’m enjoying my time off with my family and we’ll make the right decision together.
“There’s a few discussions to be had over the next few weeks.
“For what Nice have given me and the opportunity to represent them over the last year has been unbelievable. They have given me a lot of playing time.
“Of course, I’m very respectful to that and we will see what happens over the next few weeks.”
Gulf state Saudi is threatening to muscle in on Europe’s bigger leagues by making big-name signings this summer.
But Ramsey, who had three years at Juventus where he won Serie A, reckons there is still some way for them to go before they challenge the likes of Serie A.
Ramsey said: “Serie A was a very demanding league. There was a lot of quality in and many big European teams.
“It’s a very competitive and tough league to be involved in. The Italian teams have definitely had a good season. They had three teams in European finals plus Napoli winning Serie A.
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“There’s plenty of teams in Italy now who can compete at the very highest level in Europe.
“Of course, these leagues have been established for a very long time.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
