Last week a little bit of news completely missed me by.
Folarin Balogun changed his international allegiances from English to American.
Now on the face of it, New York born Balogun has merely opted to play for the country of his birth. But it also follows a trend of Balogun looking for change rather than rising to a challenge.
Firstly, is he really American?
Just because you a born in a stable, it does not make you a horse. Balogun was born in America to Nigerian parents and moved to the UK at just 2-years old. He is no more American than Erling Haaland is English.
Faced with Harry Kane, Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins, Calum Wilson and others, Balogun would have had to battle to play for England. Instead, he has bottled the challenge.
Opting to play for America was the easy option. He walks into their first team. Gauranteed game time without having to continue pushing himself, continue improving. And it follows a trend for the on-loan Arsenal striker.
In April, Balogun reportedly made it clear that he was not willing to return to Arsenal to fight for a first team place. That he wanted regular first team football or be allowed to leave.
At the time, I praised the decision. He could have easily just sat out his contract, gone on loan across Europe, and have an easy career. It highlighted that he wanted to play regular football – something which Chelsea’s army of loanees show no ambition for.
But with the US news, it perhaps shows a sign that Balogun is a player that wants to take the easy option to the first team.
He would rather play for a lesser team (and country), then compete to start for a top team (and country). And that is a worrying sign.
What sets top players apart is their drive, their ambition. Even when at the time, they strive to be better. They do not reach a level, believe that they have made it, and take their foot off the pedal.
By choosing America, and looking for a move away from Arsenal, Balogun seems to think that first team football should be given rather than earned. He does not want to work hard to play for Arsenal and England. He would prefer to not put as much effort in and start regularly for America and (for example) West Ham.
It is also interesting to see that he has chosen the USA rather than Nigeria.
With Nigerian-born parents, you would think he would be proud of his motherland. Many British-born Nigerians (and British-born Africans in general) are very proud of their heritigate. Where they came from.
But not Balogun.
Balogun has opted for a country that he probably can not remember living in rather than the country of his parents. Why could that be?
Was it because Nigeria have the likes of Victor Osimhen and Kelechi Iheanacho upfront. As well as lesser players such as Emmanuel Dennis.
Meanwhile, the options for the US Men’s National Team are Jordan Morris, Jesús Ferreira, Cade Cowell and Brandon Vazquez. “Who?” would be the right question.
It is very clear that Balogun’s decision to play for a country that he has very little association with is based on him thinking he would get the more caps for them, rather than his affinity to them.
To take Arsenal to the next level, Mikel Arteta and Edu need to be buying players that want to challenge themselves. That think they can make the step up. Similar mentality to Aaron Ramsdale. To Ben White. And so on.
Balogun is not like Gabriel Jesus or Olexsandr Zinchenko. Mid-20s players who played at a top club and then becamse frustrated at the lack of game time. He is just 21-years-old, having his first full season in senior football.
What we do not need is a 21-year-old who has opted twice in his young career to take the easy option. A player who has shy’d away from the challenge of competing with top players for game time.
We now need to maximise the sale value of Balogun. Move him on. And then sign someone who has the ambition and drive to compete with Gabriel Jesus as a regular starter for Arsenal.
Balogun is showing he does not have the heart to rise to a challenge.
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 
1) getting more game time helps with development.
2) if Joe in accounts leaves for another more high profile job is he maximising opportunities or failing to rise to the challenge
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Silentstan,
Point 1 – Fair comment. Point 2 – With the clubs that would be interested in him, how are they “more high profile” than playing for The Arsenal? Unfortunately your analogy falls flat, so the comments in the article of failing to rise to the challenge still hold true.
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What of whites signing only white…. let African sign fir their motherland…. otherwise France did not win2018 WC
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Ok well argentina won without africans so lets follow there motto.
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Wow….said it all right there and cant disagree with any of it.
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Oh, you can’t disagree??? Sure! How about the many blacks who chose to “rise to the challenge” and not get looked at? Tammy and Fikayo went to Italy to prove a point, yet Maguire will get a call 1st over anyone. So many talents wasted because they stupidly chose England, who made them play a couple of games, making them illegible for other country. Maybe if Southgate sorts himself out and pick basednon merit rather than his favourites, just maybe some would “rise to the challenge”. There is nothing wrong in.being ambitious and wanting to play in major tournaments. At least, he has a better shot.
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It sounds like an arsenal fan looking at the weak link to vent their anger at not winning the league
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Struggling to see your POV…. but I tell you that Balogun proves & have shown what he can do. A lot of players have gone out on loan and flopped, many others have gone via transfers to top teams and woefully failed: Eden Hazard, Lukaku, Nicolas Pepe, Werghost et al… So, if Balogun has gone on to low ranked team in France, seized the opportunity to be in the starting line up as well as spearhead the team, set the league alight and break a record, this underlines just how much drive, zeal, desire & belief he’s got in himself. He’s gone on to prove himself for the world to see, so it’s up to any manager to integrate him into any team, knowing fully well that he pose dangerous threats to the opposition.
Credit to Nketiah for his performances in the AFC shirt….. but I’d rather Balogun integrated into the team and ship out Nketiah.. I’m sure many other factual & non sentimental gooners will agree with me on this.
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I would rather Balogun be integratted in the squad. But it sounds like he does not want to! He does not want to stay and fight for his position.
Ultimately, I would rather sell Balogun and Nketiah and use those funds to sign someone better than both
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Nelson, Holding, ESR have all been in team for a long time coming. They’ve ‘fought’ fought’ and ‘fought’, where has it gotten them? still in the pecking order! with further additions to the team.
There’s no manual to achieving greatness. Identify a route/source and be consistent in what you do. Balogun has taken a cue from these guys and doesn’t wanna go that way!
Hence, I see no ‘crime’ in Balogun identifying what works for him and seizing the opportunity he’s got. Be happy for a fellow gooner. What we should be discussing here is how the rookie Arteta can integrate him into the team and not stick to a particular starting line up for matches all season. Every opposition in the division and even we, the fans already know the team he’d field. Now, we have the Champions league in the bag and I don’t think i’m looking forward to it: without masterclass additions or masterclass tactics.
He should either go back to his master to learn some more tactics or school himself with some ASAP.
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I agree completely with this analysis. Balogun is too proud to accept the fact that he needs to fight for a place anywhere he is. He is scared of competition and for me, that means he is not good enough for either Arsenal, England or Nigeria.
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Interesting article but I respectfully disagree with your opinion. Based on your argument, if being born in a stable does not make him a horse, does growing up in a stable make him a horse? (As he did with England).
It may not be that he is running away from a challenge- perhaps he is learning from Fikayo Tomori & Tammy Abraham that weren’t given sufficient opportunities with the three lions.
I watched every US match at the world cup including the one they gave England a run for their money, and they are definitely an excellent side that just needs a little tweaking here & there.
The USMNT & their fans went out of their way to win him over & no one should begrudge him for having his head turned. (Did you see the fans’ banner for him?)
He choosing them is definitely not a bad decision in my honest opinion.
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You should not be “given sufficient opportunities” but earn them. Last england squad, Ivan Toney and Harry Kane were called up. Balogun, Watkins and Wilson were left at home. Not sure any of those 3 deserved to be in the squad above Toney and Kane.
I get what youre saying that he might no have “felt English”, but if that is the case, he probably would have associated himself more with the country of his parents (Nigeria), rather than a country that he only lived in for 2 years?
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Thanks for your response. My take is that he has links to all 3 countries. He has the opportunity/luxury to choose any one. He can only make this choice once (ideally) so he has to get it right. No matter how hardworking & open to challenges a person may be, it is the natural & understandable human instinct to choose what you feel would be in one’s best interest.
1. US is a young upwardly mobile team that need a striker.
2. They are a very good team that caught the eye of many for their good display in Qatar.
3. They will build on this ‘euphoria’ & carry it over to the next world cup which they are hosting which would bring Balogun further into limelight.
4. US is not a bad place to secure one’s future & retirement plan (LOL)
5. They went out of their way to convince him, showing him how much he is wanted & relevant to their plans.
I believe Fikayo Tomori, with his displays with AC Milan last season ‘earned’ the right to be given the opportunity in the England squad to Qatar but yet he was overlooked. He chose England over Canada & Nigeria probably wanting to embrace the ‘challenge’. Every decision taken is a risk so you just have to take a calculated one & we the die hard fans need to show understanding.
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There isn’t much to separate him and Eddie other than we can get a decent fee for flo. If laca can score in that league maybe flo’s achievements this season need to be put into perspective, he has done well but can he do it next year, I’m not sure. Id rather us take the money for flo and put it towards a better more proven striker that will improve us rather than add squad depth. He was never getting in the England team anytime soon so fair play he chose the US
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A little bit Harsh,
We had the chance of putting him into the England team, when he was one of the best performing players at the time, instead we opted to go for Ivan Toney who has now been banned for the next 9 months.
The English management didn’t handle him well.
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Ivan Toney – 20 PL goals
Foliran Balogu – 20 Ligue 1 goals
He is a young player who was not outperforming senior players, so remained with the U21. Not sure how you work out that the England national management didn’t handle him well?
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Wow that was pretty Harsh. You failed to mention that England didn’t call him up or even have the regular coaching squad contact him when he was the leading scorer in France. Not only did they not call him when nations league came out, as expected he gave the narcissistic English better than you attitude acting as if he was nothing. Coaches need to understand this is a business and you don’t keep clients by cold shouldering them and having their secretaries or under 21 coaches do all the work behind the scenes. Sure England is stacked but the English pompous attitude is why people like him say,” I tried and tried but it’s time to move on.” He can make a lot of money and be one of the faces of the next World cup.
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Bollocks! If he isn’t been looked at, then he has every right to go where he would be looked at. Look at Tammy, he even had to go to Roma just to prove a point and still overlooked because Southgate has his favourites. You seriously want to tell me Maguire is the best we’ve got at the back? Can’t even command a place at United yet he’s the 1st to get a call.
Don’t write stupid articles insulting people, he has every right to switch. It isn’t like Saka isn’t Nigeian, but here we are.
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Flo had to decide on his International future fairly quickly due to the Nations league Semi Finals and Concacaf Gold Cup being played this summer. Although the USMNT is not as good as the England team the gap is not as big as it used to be. Being a 21 year old striker is not like it used to be either, how many years at the top of his game does he have left 7-8? So he should in your opinion forgo the next WC cycle and let Harry Kane finish his career out and wait for the 2030 WC?
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This entire ‘article’, if you can call it that, reads like sour grapes.
No connection to the US? He played for the U18 team. Pretty minor detail to leave out of this fact-filled hit piece.
This is exactly why he wanted a change of scenery.
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Why someone needs therapy.
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Sour grapes? The US is a much bigger country and if Balogun can develop into the first true American football star — during a World Cup at home — he essentially has a blank check. the marketing opportunities are endless. I’m not sure how playing against San Marino and Andorra are going to supercharge his development, but whatever.
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Remind me…what was the score of the last England US match that mattered?
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I would argue that while it might be harder to get minutes the pressure of being viewed as the player that is going to get the US over the hump is a bigger pressure to put on oneself. I also think looking at this choice as it has to be he is shrinking when faced with a challenge rather than wanting to try to be part of the team that finally breaks through for the US and makes us relevant is another way. I think you are projecting a view but the truth is we don’t know. Maybe he wants to be remembered for being one of the players who made the US relevant and even if he broke through in England as you say….what does that make him, just another guy who played for England and probably forgotten. The USMNT offers him a lot more than you think, dismissing it as just a cowardly move is not seeing all angles.
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This article is written with such a bitter tone. The reality is that both England and Arsenal have made it clear that he is not in the plans so he is going someplace where he will have an opportunity to play. Players do this all the time and there is absolutely nothing wrong with going somewhere that you’re wanted and can flourish.
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Please permit to share the opinion of a former USMNT International, Eric Wynalda on Balogun’s switch. It’s good to get a different perspective.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/may/25/folarin-balogun-chose-the-us-over-england-he-may-have-created-a-2026-contender
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I stopped reading when the article mentioned Balogun in the same sentence as Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar
He isn’t even on Ollie Watkins leve
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Or maybe he is looking at Olie Watkins, Ivan Toney and Callum Wilson and saying “im already as good as them or soon will be but Southgate is loyal to a fault (ie still playing Harry Maguire) and still won’t call me up. And maybe he is thinking, playing with such a young energetic fun group who England already couldnt beat in the world cup would be great and Nigeria is not guaranteed by any means to make the next world cup. And as far as Arsenal, all they have to do is tell him they plan play him and he won’t worry about another loan.
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