Arsenal: Folarin Balogun long-term contract signals new chapter

Arsenal have confirmed that Folarin Balogun has put pen to paper on a new long-term contract at the club until 2025, bringing an end to months of speculation about the 19-year-old’s future.

A ‘will he, won’t he?’ saga that has led to an unsavoury stand-off largely played out in the public eye, as the weeks went by it grew increasingly likely that Folarin Balogun would leave the Gunners at the end of the season when his contract expired.

Mikel Arteta has addressed the issue regularly in his press conferences, insisting he’s always been confident that the striker would sign a new deal, a sentiment he claimed was echoed with Balogun, but cited lasting disagreements with his agent as the primary reason for no amicable conclusion.

That can all be put to bed now as the club confirmed on their official website that the New York-born forward has committed his future to red half of north London, off the back of a breakthrough campaign in which he scored his first senior goals for the club in this season’s Europa League.

Folarin Balogun’s new long-term Arsenal contract signals new chapter as Mikel Arteta can plan for future

"Mikel Arteta said: “We have been extremely impressed with Flo this season. He has continually shown his natural ability in many training sessions with us and we have been equally impressed with his early integration into the first-team squad on matchdays.“He has given us glimpses with the performances and of course with his two goals already for the first team. The hard work starts here for Flo and we are all looking forward to supporting and working with him in the years to come.”"

What is important now is to leave the past as the past. Throughout the ongoing drama neither party have covered themselves in glory.

At such a crucial stage of his career it’s vital that Balogun has stability, and while there have been some questionable social media posts on his behalf, he is just a young lad who wants the best for his career.

Eddie Nketiah looks certain to leave the club in the summer and the future of Alexandre Lacazette remains a source of heightened speculation, thus paving a clear path for the 19-year-old to step up into the first team. Let bygones be bygones, as they say.

This talent is now tied down.