Arsenal are extremely pleased with the performances of England U21 centre-forward Folarin Balogun so far this season.

What's been said?

That's according to Fabrizio Romano, with the Italian journalist revealing in a recent post on Twitter that Mikel Arteta and his side are delighted with the form the 21-year-old has been in so far in 2022/23, with the striker having returned incredibly impressive numbers both on loan at Stade de Reims and on international duty.

In his post, Romano said: "Arsenal are very happy with Folarin Balogun's performances this season, [his] loan move to Reims working very well and [he had a] good game plus one goal with Young Lions [on Tuesday]. Arsenal will monitor Balogun this season as he's highly rated for the future."

Finally flourishing

Considering just how impressive Balogun has been in France so far this season, coupled with the Gunners academy graduate turning in a deadly display for Lee Carsley's England U21s against Germany on Tuesday evening, it is no surprise that Arsenal are extremely pleased with the youngster's development in 2022/23.

Indeed, over his eight Ligue 1 appearances - only five of which have come as starts - for Reims in the current campaign, the £7.2m-rated starlet has been in sensational form, having already scored five goals, registered one assist and created three big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 2.5 shots - 1.3 of which have hit the target - per game.

These returns have not only seen the £31k-per-week starlet average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.06 but his six goal contributions also see him rank as the second-most efficient U21 forward in Europe's big five leagues - behind only FC Lorient's Dango Ouattara and ahead of a certain Bukayo Saka.

Furthermore, according to FBref, the 21-year-old also currently ranks in the top 19% of forwards in Europe's big five leagues for non-penalty goals per 90, as well as the top 12% for non-penalty xG, the top 22% for shots, the top 31% for assists, the top 21% for dribbles completed and the top 26% for passes completed over the last 365 days - demonstrating just how well rounded a striker Balogun is.

Further still, the youngster has also impressed on the international stage, where he has featured twice over the last week. He scored England U21s' all-important equaliser in the Young Lions' eventual 3-1 victory over reigning European Champions Germany on Tuesday evening - with Balogun taking an exquisite first touch to evade Angelo Stiller's challenge before unleashing a furious drive that crashed in off the post.

As such, despite his development having slowed somewhat after making his first-team debut for the Gunners as a 19-year-old back in 2020, it would very much appear as if Balogun is finally becoming the next big thing at Colney - something that is sure to delight Arteta and supporters of the north London club alike.