Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang thinks Miguel Azeez and Folarin Balogun both have big potential, after they recently made their senior debuts.
Writing in his pre-match programme notes, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang commented on a couple of Arsenal’s top young prospects at the moment.
With the first-choice side performing so poorly in the Premier League, Arsenal fans have often had to take comfort in the more positive showings from the young players in the Europa League fixtures.
Aubameyang has had a better look at those youngsters up close in training recently, and he has particular praise for 18-year-old midfielder Miguel Azeez.
“One player who I think looks really good is Miguel Azeez,” Aubameyang said (via Metro). “Miguel is going to be a great player in the future. He’s really calm and mature so I’m sure he’s got what you need to be a success and have a big career.”
The other youngster Aubameyang singles out is no surprise – Folarin Balogun. The striker has two goals and an assist in his four senior substitute appearances so far, and Aubameyang has been praising the teenager since early 2019.
“I’ve spoken before about how talented I think Flo Balogun is, so I’m not even surprised to see him scoring in the Europa League as he has been doing,” Aubameyang added.
“I’m so happy for him because when you’re young, your dream is, first of all, to play with the first-team. Once you have done that you want to start scoring and he has already done that in a Europa League game.
“It’s always something special when you get your first goal with a professional team. I’m really happy for him and hopefully, he’s going to score more goals for the club.”
Azeez and Balogun are in very different situations right now with regards to their Arsenal future. Azeez is already tied down for the long term, with a contract to 2022 with an additional two-year option on top of that. Balogun’s deal expires in June.
Ideally, they’ll both play for Arsenal for many years to come, but it’s up to the club and Balogun’s representatives to make that happen.