Folarin Balogun is enjoying some season.
Our on-loan striker has excelled while on loan at Ligue 1 side, Reims - and is the division’s top scorer, having netted 14 times.
The England Under-21 international has the most goals of anyone aged 21 or under in Europe’s top five leagues, and his form has understandably delighted the boss.
“I’m so happy for him,” Arteta said. “He’s a boy that has a really clear idea of what he wants to do with his career. He’s really ambitious, really committed and really brave.
“We discussed a lot before he made that move whether it was the right place to go and the other choices he had. He was so convinced. I’m really happy for him because he deserves what he’s getting.
“When you look at the numbers and what he is doing, it’s just incredible. It’s very rare to see that. But he’s got something special, that’s why we decided to give him a long-term contract and have faith in him and give him the long period that he needs now, because the loan he is having now is really different to the one he had before at Middlesbrough.
“He had some scars from that period. There were moments when he suffered, moments when he played, and when he didn’t. Moments when he played in what he believes is not his best position. He threw all those excuses out and went into the next experience.
“He put that behind him, but using exactly what worked for him, what didn’t work, looked in the mirror and moved to the next one. He’s done that really, really well.”
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