Just like that, a single result has put a screeching halt to the momentum Arsenal were starting to build over the last two weeks.
Mikel Arteta’s side followed their win at home to Manchester United on Wednesday night with a seriously disappointing draw away to Fulham on Sunday.
However, with a Champions League home tie to win against AS Monaco tonight, there is no more time to think about what could’ve been, although they have received a timely boost concerning when Folarin Balogun who sadly won’t be returning to London with the Principality club.
Balogun's Arsenal return in ruins
If Balogun was fit to face the Gunners then it’s likely he would have been looking to prove that Arsenal made a mistake in selling him for £34m last summer, and based on his form for the Ligue 1 side, he might have a point.
In his first season on the French Riviera, the 23-year-old marksman scored eight goals and provided seven assists in 32 first-team appearances, meaning he maintained a rather impressive average of a goal involvement every 2.13 games.
Appearances
32
10
Goals
8
3
Assists
7
1
Goal Involvements per Match
0.46
0.40
This season has seen the New York-born dynamo maintain his great form in front of goal when injuries have allowed, and he has a tally of three goals and one assist to his name in just ten appearances, four of which have been off the bench.
Overall, while Arsenal clearly didn’t view him as good enough to lead the line, Balogun has been putting in some impressive performances for Monaco in the season and a bit since.
Unfortunately for tonight’s visitors, he has not travelled with the squad owing to a shoulder problem that kept him out of Monaco’s clash with Toulouse a few days ago.
Balogun had recovered from a dislocated shoulder but has now suffered a setback. As a result, this is particularly good news for a certain Arsenal defender…
Great news for Saliba & Arteta
Arsenal are facing something of a defensive injury crisis ahead of this evening with the likes of Gabriel, Jurrien Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Riccardo Calafiori all not spotted in training on Tuesday. Thus, the fact that Monaco will be missing their leading marksman is only good news for William Saliba who will be without some of his partners in crime.
While the Gunners dropped points a matter of days ago, the club still have a great chance of avoiding the Champions League playoffs in the new year, and that task has now been made a great deal easier by Balogun’s absence this evening.
Given Saliba is in brilliant form at the moment and is undoubtedly the club’s best defender, the 6 foot 4 star likely would have no issue bullying the 5 foot 10 Balogun out of the game even if he was fit.
Indeed, the “special defender,” as dubbed by Fabrizio Romano, was one of the few players who could come out of Sunday with his head held high, earning an 8/10 match rating from the Standard’s Simon Collings, who wrote that he ‘did not put a foot wrong.’
Then, against United, he scored again, helped to keep a clean sheet and received another 8/10 from Collings, who praised the 23-year-old for being ‘so composed on the ball’ and utterly ‘dominant’ throughout the encounter.
Lastly, while the Monaco man is a dangerous forward, nobody would suggest he’s more of a threat than Viktor Gyokeres, and when the Gunners’ “world-class” number two, as dubbed by Romano, came up against him last month, he failed to score or provide an assist.
Ultimately, Arsenal’s season is in a precarious place at the moment, and with Monaco’s American superstar out, it gives them a great chance of getting things back on track. After all, only two players in the whole squad have scored more than him for the Ligue 1 side; wingers Eliesse Ben Seghir (five goals) and Maghnes Akliouche (four goals).
Despite all of those injuries, perhaps Saliba’s evening might be a great deal easier than he was anticipating…
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