Balogun finally speaks on exit from Arsenal

Folarin Balogun in a recent statement revealed his exit from Arsenal was out of his control.

Recall that Balogun left the North London club to join French Ligue 1 side AS Monaco last summer in a deal worth up to €40 million.

Since joining Monaco, Balogun has scored in three of his first five games, despite two rare penalty misses against Nice, with his team sitting at the top of the table.

Speaking with ESPN, Balogun opened up about his conversation with Arteta after returning from loan at Reims.

He said: “He didn’t really say much; when I came back he just said well done, and he encouraged me to keep going.

“Then me coming back in preseason, it was just more about me seeing whether I fit into his plans and seeing if I can continue to play some games.

“He said that he would try to get me involved as best as he could, but of course, he also told me that the people higher up were making decisions on me and seeing what would be best for me. So the conversations between me and him were good, but it was more about the club, what they wanted to do.”