Arsenal have six players who can play up front as a striker at the moment, and Hale End graduates Eddie Nketiah and Folarin Balogun are two of them.
The Gunners have been very active in this window so far. Kai Havertz is the only one who has been brought in, but Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber are close to moving to the Emirates too.
Once that’s done, Arsenal‘s focus will turn to outgoings. Balogun is expected by many to leave the club, but Ryan Taylor has claimed on GiveMeSport that Mikel Arteta could keep him and sell Nketiah instead.
Arsenal could keep Folarin Balogun and sell Eddie Nketiah instead
Many people, Piers Morgan for example, think Arsenal need to sign a new striker this summer, but there really isn’t enough room, is there?
The Gunners have Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah as natural number nines, while Leandro Trossard played there last season and was absolutely incredible for them.
Folarin Balogun is back after a sensational loan spell now and new boy Kai Havertz played most of his football at Chelsea as a number nine.
To add to the above five, Gabriel Martinelli can play up top too, which means Arsenal may actually need to sell at least one of the above players to keep everyone happy.
The general feeling over the last few weeks has been that Balogun would be the one Arsenal cash in on this summer, but Taylor has suggested a different theory now.
He said: “I’ve seen quite a few reports stating that Nketiah could leave this summer.
“I think Arsenal probably would be open to selling him if they received a sizeable proposal, in which case it probably would offer Balogun the chance to stay.
TBR View:
This really is a tricky decision for Arsenal.
Balogun, branded as a ‘frightening‘ prospect by Paul Brown on GiveMeSport, just had a sensational season out on loan in France, where he scored 22 goals and provided three assists in all competitions for Reims.
The American’s stock right now is higher than it has ever been before, and he’ll go for a much bigger fee than what Arsenal could get for Nketiah this summer.
That suggests Balogun could be the one out of the door, but if a decent offer does come in for 23-year-old Nketiah, Arsenal may go the other way.
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