Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta praised Folarin Balogun’s cameo in the Europa League win over Dundalk and reiterated his desire to keep the teenage forward at the club.
The 19-year-old came off the bench to set up Joe Willock and score one himself as the Gunners won their final Group B game 4-2 in Dublin to advance to the knockout stages with a perfect record.
Eddie Nketiah had given the visitors the lead before a fine long-range strike from Mohamed Elneny had them two goals up – only for Jordan Flores to pull one back.
Balogun replaced Nketiah after 62 minutes and helped win the game for Arteta’s side, who conceded a second to Sean Hoare in the latter stages.
“He has done really well,” Arteta replied when asked about Balogun’s performance.
“Every minute that he has been on that field he has been superb. Today he looked a threat again. He scored a goal, he set up another one and he looked really lively and mature on that pitch.”
It was Balogun’s fourth senior appearance for Arsenal, all coming in this season’s Europa League, after a summer where his future was questioned.
A product of the club’s academy, his contract expires next summer and he has been linked with a move away – something Arteta insists he does not want to see.
“We are having some discussions with the player,” he added.
“He knows that we want to retain him at the club. We know the length of his contract at the moment is an issue, but we are trying to resolve it in the best possible way.”
“We want him to stay. He said to me he wants to stay at the club, so hopefully, we can reach an agreement and extend his contract.”
