Arsenal set to recall Balogun from Reims as a replacement for the injured Gabriel Jesus

ENGLISH Premier League side Arsenal has concluded plans to recall on loan Nigeria-eligible striker Folarin Balogun from French side Stade de Reims following an injury to Brazilian Gabriel Jesus while on World Cup duty.

Jesus is currently in Qatar with the Brazilian national team and yesterday, it was announced that he had a problem with his right knee, which will see him out action for at least three weeks. However, the injury is now worse than feared as latest reports indicate that Jesus will now need to undergo knee surgery which in turn will keep out of action for as long as three months.

This development has sparked doubts about Arsenal's title challenge as Jesus is the club's main striker, who has helped them to the top of the Premier League table. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has swung into action immediately, starting to search for an adequate replacement for him as the league will enter a crucial stage after the World Cup.

At the start of the season, Balogun was loaned to the French Ligue One club Stade Reims and he has been a revelation so far. In June this year, England manager Gareth Southgate invited Balogun to train with the Three Lions senior squad as part of a long term plan to tie him down.

Balogun has long been tipped as a future star at Arsenal and is beginning to show class at the top level while in France. He has already scored eight Ligue One goals this season with Stade Reims, bettering the tallies of players such as Lionel Messi, Breel Embolo and Wissam Ben Yedder.

Arsenal has a recall clause in Balogun's contract should they need to bring him back to the club and Mr Arteta is poised to activate that this week. French newspaper Ouest France, selected five players who had a fine start to the 2022/23 season, who it believes should be watched during this campaign.

Apart from Balogun, the others are along with Vitinha (Paris SG), Lois Openda (RC Lens), Dango Ouattara (FC Lorient) and Nuno Tavares (Olympique de Marseille). Balogun was named the Ligue One Young Player of the Month in August following his remarkable goalscoring form.