Folarin Balogun sends clear message to Arteta & Arsenal following FA Cup exit
Last Updated: January 24, 2021 2:15 pm
Holders crash out
The Gunners were of course back in FA Cup action a short time ago, in a meeting with Southampton at St. Mary’s.
Arteta’s men headed into proceedings brimming with confidence, on the back of 5 wins from their last 6 across all competitions, the latest of which saw the north Londoners make short work of Newcastle, by 3 goals to nil.
When all was said and done this afternoon, though, Arsenal were brought firmly back down to earth.
A weakened XI, missing the likes of Kieran Tierney, Bukayo Saka, Thomas Partey and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, was eventually put to the sword by a solitary goal.
The game’s telling moment arrived midway through the first-half, when Kyle Walker-Peters’ driven delivery from the right was directed into the bottom corner of Bernd Leno’s goal by the unfortunate Gabriel:
Post & IN 💥#EmiratesFACup @SouthamptonFC pic.twitter.com/ptTjtZlRYX
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 23, 2021
As such, Arsenal’s defence of their FA Cup drown has come to an end, with little more than a whimper.
Balogun’s message
Key to the struggles of the visitors at St. Mary’s this afternoon was a lack of cutting edge.
The Gunners, for the most part, toiled in their efforts to break down a stout Southampton backline, with the only clear-cut chance to have fallen the way of Arteta’s men having been superbly kept out by Fraser Forster:
Incredible reactions 🤯#EmiratesFACup @SouthamptonFC pic.twitter.com/K5atFxt9w2
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 23, 2021
As outlined above, though, one individual who evidently feels as though he could have made the difference in Arsenal’s efforts to get on the scoresheet on Saturday, if handed the chance, is Folarin Balogun.
Much has of course been made of youngster Balogun’s future of late, with the 19-year-old, despite being held in high regard at the Emirates, expected to depart as a free agent this summer.
Balogun was in action last night, showcasing his talents in front of goal with an impressive hat-trick for Arsenal’s U23 side versus Brighton.
And, less than an hour removed from the club’s senior outfit being ousted from the FA Cup this afternoon, the English youth international took to social media, to send a clear-as-day message to not only the club, but Mikel Arteta.
Balogun posted a clip of one of his three goals netted against Brighton, hinting that he could have provided a similarly telling contribution at St. Mary’s:
— Balogun (@fbalogun67) January 23, 2021
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This article was edited by Josh Barker.
Arsenal betting odds, next game:
Arsenal vs Fulham odds: result, both teams to score, correct score & goalscorers
| Arsenal vs Fulham Result/Both teams score | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 3/1 | 7/4 |
| Fulham | 9/1 | 13/2 |
| Draw | 4/1 | 8/1 |
| Arsenal vs Fulham Goalscorers | First | Last | Anytime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | 7/4 | 7/4 | 1/1 |
| Alexandre Lacazette | 2/1 | 2/1 | 6/5 |
| Eddie Nketiah | 11/4 | 11/4 | 6/4 |
| Aleksandar Mitrovic | 3/1 | 3/1 | 9/4 |
| Gabriel Martinelli | 10/3 | 10/3 | 15/8 |
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| 3 | Leicester City FC | 31 | 18 | 56 |
| 4 | West Ham United FC | 31 | 12 | 55 |
| 5 | Chelsea FC | 31 | 19 | 54 |
| 6 | Liverpool FC | 31 | 16 | 52 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 31 | 17 | 49 |
| 8 | Everton FC | 30 | 3 | 48 |
| 9 | Arsenal FC | 31 | 8 | 45 |
| 10 | Leeds United | 31 | 0 | 45 |
| 11 | Aston Villa FC | 30 | 10 | 44 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 31 | -10 | 38 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 31 | -19 | 38 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 31 | -17 | 36 |
| 15 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 31 | -5 | 33 |
| 16 | Burnley FC | 31 | -17 | 33 |
| 17 | Newcastle United FC | 31 | -19 | 32 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 32 | -18 | 26 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 31 | -31 | 24 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 31 | -38 | 14 |
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|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 19 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 19 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 16 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 14 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 14 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 14 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 12 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 9 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 9 |
| Pereira, Matheus | West Bromwich Albion | 8 |
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| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 9 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 8 |
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 7 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 0 | 7 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 0 | 7 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 6 |
| Phillips, Kalvin | Leeds United | 0 | 7 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Targett, Matt | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Holgate, Mason | Everton FC | 0 | 7 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
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| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 11 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 9 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 7 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 6 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 6 |
| Pereira, Matheus | West Bromwich Albion | 6 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 6 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 6 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 6 |
| Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 6 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United FC | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
