Folarin Balogun can be whatever he wants to be. He excels physically, technically, & confidence-wise whilst fitting into Arsenal's current tactical environment.
The Englishman is ripping Ligue 1 to shreds & his qualities suggest he can make it at the very, very *TOP*...
THREAD!
The Englishman is ripping Ligue 1 to shreds & his qualities suggest he can make it at the very, very *TOP*...
THREAD!
The thing about Balogun is he's not the most aesthetically pleasing player in the world but he ticks most of the essentials when it comes to specialising in the #9, and that's why he's accumulated a whopping 14 goals in Ligue 1 making him the top scorer in the entire competition!
Not only that, but the underlying data suggests his numbers are sustainable as he's accumulated 13.6 xG which is exactly in line with his 14 goals scored.
Balogun's 14 goals scored is 54% of Reims' entire goalscoring output this season in the league (@OptaJoe).
Balogun's 14 goals scored is 54% of Reims' entire goalscoring output this season in the league (@OptaJoe).
No other player in the top 5 European leagues has matched that level of influence goalscoring wise on their team, so it's clear from a pure statistical point that Balogun is doing a special job this season, particularly when considering his competitors are Messi, Mbappé, and co..
The likelihood is those world stars will overtake him when considering they play for a far better team, but that won't take away from the impressive collection of performances and statistics Balogun has put together this season.
So, let's analyse what makes the player so good.
So, let's analyse what makes the player so good.
As I said, Balogun isn't particularly flashy, but he's very effective. This isn't to say he isn't capable of scoring beautiful goals, linking play with flicks, or using his quick feet to dribble or create separation to get a shot off.
He's just more so focused on efficiency.
He's just more so focused on efficiency.
Balogun ticks all of the perquisites for a #9 to succeed (albeit with some areas that could do with improvement). He's a focal point who's strong enough to hold off his man and quick enough to accelerate free to get a yard of space when running in behind.
Balogun isn't lightening quick but is fast enough to get the necessary yard on the defender to get a shot off. He also likes to drift to the left wing to get touches on the ball & make runs from out-to-in, but he doesn't do this too much to the point where he's not a focal point.
That's a really important trait to possess for a #9 because oftentimes players have all the skill in the world to excel at centre forward but lack patience as they want to get touches of the ball to influence the game which results in a subsequent lack of positional discipline.
That's not Balogun, though. He *is* a focal point, and he's also comfortable with his back to goal thanks to A) his physicality to hold defenders off and B) his technical quality to keep the ball close to his feet before linking play or turning and being direct himself.
This area of Balogun's game is slightly raw, though, despite being above average. Sometimes his posture can be too upright when trying to hold the ball up which means it's easier for defenders to unbalance him with a nudge or wrap their legs around him to get contact on the ball.
When 'low' and hunched over, the forward can use their glutes as a protective shield against the defender whilst their legs are compact and difficult to bypass. When standing tall, that protective body shield isn't present.
Compare Kane and Balogun below.
Compare Kane and Balogun below.
This isn't to say Balogun's hold up play is bad, because it's decent, & he does incorporate the hunched over stance on occasion, but not reliably enough to make possession stick regularly when the ball is played into his feet in the #9.
His technical level is also a little raw.
His technical level is also a little raw.
Sometimes the ball bounces off him and his technical quality isn't quite on the level of reliability of say an Nketiah, a Kane, or a Toney, for example, but that's okay.. he's only 21, this is his first season in top flight football, and his technical skills are encouraging.
In fact, they're *more* than encouraging. Just because Balogun is raw doesn't mean his technical game is subpar. It's actually really good, but just unreliable at the moment.
However, with more experience and hard work, that rawness can develop into technical security.
However, with more experience and hard work, that rawness can develop into technical security.
Once the base skillset is there, that can be harnessed and caressed to make it reliably impactful. Balogun often visibly demands the ball to feet when dropping in between the lines and that shows the confidence he has in his technical quality with a defender right behind him.
A player who's subpar technically doesn't pluck balls out of the sky, or create separation and turn with ferocious speed in the blink of an eye, or strike through the ball on their weak foot with ferocity, or round Donnarumma and finish emphatically..
Balogun may be raw, but he he can strike through the ball on both feet with power, can create separation for himself in the box to use that ball-striking, is a focal point in the #9, has a good technical + physical base to hold up play, & has the necessary arrogance in his game.
It's clear Balogun excels physically and technically, but without arrogance #9's don't excel. They have to be selfish, they have to be the main man.. the star of the show. Balogun has that mentality.
He takes penalties and takes lots of shots despite playing for an average team.
He takes penalties and takes lots of shots despite playing for an average team.
Taking lots of shots might not seem important on the face of it, but it exudes confidence in his own abilities relative to his skillset and mindset, and Balogun has every right to take lots of shots when considering he strikes through the ball the way he does, and on both feet!
The profile of the player is also one that directly fits into Arteta's system. It'll be unimaginably tough for Balogun to break through at Arsenal when considering both Jesus/Nketiah are more accomplished than him right now, but his willingness to do everything suits their style.
Balogun drifts out to the left & regularly drops to link play but still remains a focal point in the #9.
When he drifts wide he has the quality to create separation for himself through technical dribbling, via a short burst, or via combining with others before attacking the box.
When he drifts wide he has the quality to create separation for himself through technical dribbling, via a short burst, or via combining with others before attacking the box.
That description is where Jesus in particular excels but it's also something Nketiah and Balogun themselves are capable of doing, meaning they interchange with Martinelli positionally when they drift wide and he drifts inside.
His profile is well-rounded enough to 'make it'.
His profile is well-rounded enough to 'make it'.
Currently, though, he has some improving to do (but that makes complete sense when considering he's only 21). Balogun may have all of the physical, technical and confidence-based qualities in the world, but he has yet to put them all together to become a reliably complete player.
Although his ball-striking technique, for example, may be emphatic, it's not reliably so. The same can be applied to Balogan's usage of his physicality in duels or his link play. He's still raw.
Some games he plays like a world class outlet, other games he's a bystander.
Some games he plays like a world class outlet, other games he's a bystander.
However, the most important thing about the player is the fact that he excels at every possible trait. He's an outlet, a top ball-striker on both feet, can create separation, drift wide and combine, attack players in 1v1's, link play, is a focal point in the #9..
All top skills.
All top skills.
Whether he'll succeed at Arsenal or not is another question altogether because the likelihood is Jesus and Nketiah will continue to lead the line for the foreseeable future and it'll be difficult for him to break into that duo when considering they're both world class talents.
This isn't to say Balogun isn't a world class talent, because if he puts his mind to it he can be the ideal combination of a complete but specialised #9, and there's few players in world football who can say that about themselves.
Arteta and Arsenal are truly spoilt for choice..
Arteta and Arsenal are truly spoilt for choice..
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