Folarin Balogun display tells Arsenal all they need to know

Only two Arsenal players kept their places in the team that brushed past Sunderland 5-1 in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in midweek, but still only one player was not a member of the senior squad.

Charlie Patino flew the flag for the academy sides as he not only came off the bench to make his first team debut, he also scored 12 minutes into it. It was a special moment for the 18-year-old.

The other ‘odd one out’ in the team was Folarin Balogun, although there is nothing peculiar about his involvement at all. Handed the No. 26 over the summer, he is an official member of the senior team.

Despite that, barring a flood of absences at the beginning of the season, his involvement with Mikel Arteta’s side has been limited to one seven-minute outing in the Carabao Cup. His appearance against Sunderland was his first start for Arsenal since that defeat to Brentford in the Premier League.

Folarin Balogun display tells Arsenal all they need to know as January transfer window will see striker leave for Championship on loan move

With Eddie Nketiah in the side it meant that Balogun was moved out to the left, a position he’s not unfamiliar with, although those hoping for an announcement performance will have been somewhat let down based on their initial hopes.

It was evident that the 20-year-old struggled with the jump up in quality. It’s also entirely expected when he’s been playing against kids for his entire career.

Week in week out Balogun has the beating of his man, both physically and technically, and it was visible on Tuesday that he wasn’t quite prepared for that not to be the case again. So used to dominating all those around him and making mincemeat of the competition, gaining exposure to a higher level of opposition is going require time to settle.

Needing to be hit with the realisation of the gulf in class, when he does eventually get his loan and faces Championship opposition on matchdays and plays alongside Championship opposition in training it will provide him with exactly that.

Charging down the left channel doesn’t always result in skinning your man and cutting the ball across. Ignoring a simple pass in favour of trying to fashion yourself a shooting opportunity – as seen against the Black Cats – will result in you getting an healthy earful of choice words, not just a few arms raised in disappointment.

Six months might not be enough for him. Once he returns a full season loan could be on the cards. In either case, watching him grow accustomed to a higher level and find ways to express his quality once he learns the tools of the trade will be fascinating to watch.

Seeing how poorly Nketiah’s career was handled in terms of minutes and a lack of loan moves, the club can’t make similar mistakes again. Balogun has the talent to shine.