19 February 2023 , 21:27
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Arsenal wonderkid Folarin Balogun has been told that even hero Thierry Henry missed penalties after his recent blunder for Reims.
The Gunners loanee had been enjoying a scintillating season in Ligue 1 thus far and recently led the race for the Golden Boot ahead of Paris Saint-Germain trio Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi. He had the perfect chance to extend that lead on Saturday evening during a clash against Nice.
Balogun won a penalty in the 55th minute of the tie after drawing a foul from defender Jean-Clair Todibo. He took on the responsibility himself but failed to beat Kasper Schmeichel - the ex- Leicester man saving the striker’s effort before the rebound was put wide.
The miss would prove costly for Reims who only managed to secure a point after a 0-0 draw in the South of France. Despite that, boss Will Still jumped to the defence of his forward by claiming that even the best players including Arsenal icon Henry fail from the spot.
Speaking after the game, he said: "He's very disappointed. Very, very disappointed, but it happens, and I told him at the end of the match that it was not the end of the world.
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"The best players in the world, be it Zinedine Zidane or Thierry Henry have missed a penalty at some point. It's part of football.
Folarin Balogun saw his penalty saved by ex-Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel (Getty Images)Do you think Balogun could be an Arsenal first-team regular? Share your thoughts in the comments below
"It's a detail and one that we'll try to correct. He's the first to recognize that, and he expects a lot of himself, and he wants to score goals. But it's nothing too serious."
Balogun remains on 15 league goals for the season in what has been a hugely impressive campaign. The striker also shared his thoughts on the clash with a social media post shortly after the final whistle.
He wrote: "Disappointed to not get the win but a performance we can be proud of! 16 games unbeaten."
Balogun will certainly hope to rediscover his goalscoring form next weekend with Reims set to be back in action against Toulouse. He will also hope that his electric form will be enough to earn him a place in the Arsenal side once he returns to Arsenal come the end of the campaign.
The England under-21 international has made ten appearances for the Gunners so far throughout his fledgling career, netting two goals. Speaking about the striker’s development in France, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said: "So happy for him. He’s a boy with a really clear idea of what he wants to do in his career.
"Really ambitious, really committed and he’s really brave. We discussed before whether it was the right place to go [on loan to Reims] and other choices that he had. He was so convinced and I’m really happy for him because he deserves what he’s getting."