Folarin Balogun, one of Arsenal’s promising young talents, was conspicuously absent from Arsenal’s thrilling 5-3 victory over Barcelona at the So-Fi Stadium.

After the game, manager Mikel Arteta cleared the air on Balogun’s absence, revealing that a foot injury had kept him out of the squad.

“He wasn’t available – he had a little foot injury, and he hasn’t been training with us, and he wasn’t available to us, that was the reason,” Arteta stated.

A key concern now is Balogun’s role in the team upon recovery. “Yes, we will have to see [if he has a role in the team].

“First of all, he has to be fit and available to play minutes,” Arteta added.

Earlier in the week, it was reported that Balogun was training separately from the main squad, adding fuel to the speculation fire around his role at Arsenal.

According to The Athletic, Balogun and Oleksandr Zinchenko were spotted training with individual coaches, rather than participating in the full team practice.

However, it’s important to clarify that Balogun did participate in the initial group warm-ups and stretches.

For Zinchenko, the individual training sessions are in response to his recent calf injury, but the reasons for Balogun’s separate training remained less clear earlier in the week.

That led to some speculation that it might be due to a potential transfer, considering the striker has been subject to many rumours about a departure.

Still, his participation in the initial warm-up with the main group suggests his isolation is not total.

Recent reports from CBS Sports suggest that Inter Milan might be preparing a €40m bid for Balogun.

This falls short of Arsenal’s £50m valuation for the player, implying that any such deal may face obstacles.

Furthermore, several Premier League clubs, including Brighton, Crystal Palace, and West Ham United, are said to be interested in the talented young striker.

However, at this stage, the most reasonable explanation for Balogun’s absence seems to be a fitness issue, aggravated by his foot injury.

The return of the US international is eagerly awaited, and fans will be watching closely to see if Arteta incorporates him back into the squad once he regains full fitness.