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- Balogun on Arsenal off-season
- Talks relationship with Arteta
- Gunners' future "out of" his hands
WHAT HAPPENED? After repping the Arsenal kit stateside in the 2023 MLS All-Star game, where the Gunners faced off against MLS's finest, Balogun ended preseason with the Gunners not knowing his fate for the 2023-24 season. After spurning interest from both Chelsea and Inter, Arsenal opted to sell the USMNT star to Ligue 1 side Monaco, a move that excited Balogun, but his offseason with the Gunners left him with more questions than answers.
WHAT THEY SAID: "He [Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta] didn't really say much, he just said that when I came back he just said well done, and he encouraged me to keep going. "Then me coming back in a preseason, it was just more about me seeing whether I fit into his plans and seeing if I can continue to play some games," Balogun told ESPN.
"He said that he would try to get me involved as best as he could, but of course he also told me that the people higher up were making decisions on me and seeing what would be best for me. So the conversations between me and him were good, but it was more about the club, what they wanted to do."
"It [his future up in the air] wasn't something that made me feel anxious, it was just more a case of seeing what wanted to be done," Balogun added. "It was out of my hands, that's how I felt. It wasn't something I could control. "The only thing I could do was just turn up to train and work hard. So I did that. And then after training, I enjoyed being back in London. I saw my friends, caught up with my family."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Balogun's start to life in a Monaco shirt has been brilliant, as he's nailed down the starting spot while finding the back of the net three times in five games while notching an assist as well.
IN THREE PHOTOS:
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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR BALOGUN? The forward is set to play in two international friendlies for the USMNT over the next week, against both Germany and Ghana.