England U21 forward, Folarin Balogun has continued his excellent form for Reims in the French Ligue 1, by scoring a last-gasp equalizer at Paris Saint-Germain, even as he says he’s looking forward to returning to the London side Arsenal. Balogun is on loan to the French side.
Neymar looked to have given the hosts three points when he netted just before the hour but, six minutes into stoppage time, Balogun took center stage.
Racing on to Kamory Doumbia’s through-ball, the striker rounded Gianluigi Donnarumma before slotting home to extend his side’s unbeaten record to 13 matches in all competitions.
The England under-21 international has now scored 11 goals for his team in Ligue 1 this season, the most of any player aged 21 or under in Europe’s big five leagues.
Even from his first day at the club, Balogun was desperate to make his way all the way through to the first team.
He reckons that he has tasted big league action in France and is ready for the Premier League with Arsenal, who are comfortably sitting in EPL’s driving seat.
“So I came to Arsenal at nine. I remember being at Hale End and coming into the training ground for the first time and seeing all the older boys training and I was just thinking to myself, ‘These are the same guys you see on TV.’
“From that age, straight away, I just had a drive and ambition to be that guy eventually. As time has gone on, I’ve seen loads of different coaches help me in my career. Now I could just see that the work I’ve put in over the years is starting to pay off.
“Kwame Ampadu, when I first came here at [under] 18s, he showed me, tough love. But it was definitely something I needed at the time. Steve Bould also managed me really well, making sure that I took more of a leadership role, which is something I need to learn as well.
“My ambitions are to make an impact in the first team. I see it as something that I’ve taken upon myself to be able to go over there and make an impact, not just be one of the numbers.
“I want to be somebody who eventually leads that group, so I would say I have quite driven ambitions. We’ll see if I can make them happen.”
Balogun, however, added that the loan spell has helped him adjust to different kinds of play, which makes him a better player.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
