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Folarin Balogun’s brother, Royce has slammed Arsenal coach, Mikel Arteta’s tactics for his brother’s inability to shine against Brentford at the start of the season.
Recall that the young striker was handed a shock start in the Gunners’ 2-0 loss against the newly promoted club.
However, Balogun’s brother, Royce believes Arsenal’s ‘system’ made it difficult for the striker to flourish in the game.
‘It was his time, it was really deserved, it wasn’t by luck or by chance, he fully deserved that chance,’ Royce Balogun said on What The Footie Podcast.
‘It was a good game for him, it was a baptism of fire, I think it was something he needed, he needed to see that this is the level. I think him going through that really showed he’s just started, it’s just the beginning, there’s always the next step, to me you’ve never made it until you retire, until you’re finished and you can sign off and say, ‘this is my career, my stats, my numbers’, that’s when you can see you’ve made it, you’ve done your career.
‘I think the tactics and the system… I’m not going to say much, but to see him on the pitch I was really proud of him. It was a baptism, he really learnt it was not Under-23s, these are people who are really going for it, they want your head, even the way they were dragging him about you could tell.
‘After the game you could really tell he was angry. He wasn’t panicking, it was more, ‘I need to step up’, the next day he was angry but he was like, ‘we go again, we go to the training ground and we keep going. It’s tough being in that limelight, and especially with that kind of fame.
