Arsenal academy striker Folarin Balogun has had an impressive international break with the England u18s, further emphasising that he’s ready for the next step in his youth career.

Folarin Balogun scores against Northampton Town in the FA Youth Cup third round via Instagram
Folarin Balogun scores against Northampton Town in the FA Youth Cup third round via Instagram

Balogun is the Arsenal u18s’ top scorer this season, with 23 goals in all competitions, and he’s starting to carry that form into his international matches as well. The striker only played 130 minutes of the England u18s’ three games over the break, but he still managed to score twice, assist once and win a penalty for a fourth goal.

That means he’s directly contributed to four goals in his last four games for England, as well as that penalty, to add to his 30 goal contributions in 25 games for Arsenal in 2018/19.

Under-18 opponents clearly don’t present much of a challenge to Balogun, and he should certainly be stepping up to the u23s with Arsenal and maybe the England u19s or u20s next season. The only reason for the Gunners to hold off on promoting him, for now, is that he’s leading his current side towards the U18 Premier League title.

A more immediate opportunity for Balogun comes in the form of the first team’s current trip to Dubai. The England u18s were playing in Dubai already, so after only playing 55 minutes on Sunday, it’s possible Balogun could link up with the squad for their friendly match on Tuesday. We’ll see.