Arsenal Leading Marksman Aubameyang Singles Out Nigerian Striker For Special Praise

Published: March 20, 2019

Arsenal's top scorer this campaign, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has singled out Nigerian striker Folarin Balogun for special praise on social media.

Balogun who is an England U18 international, but also eligible to represent Nigeria and his country of birth, United States, is having a blistering season, with 22 goals in 23 appearances across all competitions for Arsenal's youth teams so far this season.

Replying to a tweet from Arsenal about Balogun, Aubameyang acknowledged that the young striker is in the form of his life and posted : ''This young boy is 🔥 💪🏽''.

The New York-born striker has revealed that he is modelling his game on that of the Gabon international.

''I am the sort of striker that likes to play on the shoulder of the last defender and make runs behind them, similar to the way that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang plays,'' Balogun told arsenal.com.

''I’ve trained a few times with the first team and I feel that I’ve benefited from being involved with them, especially when playing against experienced defenders which forces you to find different ways of getting in on goal as what works at lower levels does not always work against them.''

Xavier Amaechi, Bukayo Saka, Arthur Okonkwo, Joseph Olowu and Ryan Alebiousu are among the exciting prospects of Nigerian descent on the books of Arsenal Academy, apart from Balogun.

Igho Kingsley

Photo Credit : arsenal.com