Arsenal of England youth team player, Folarin Balogun has recalled his early days with The Gunners, and admitted he spent most of it thinking about the possibility of having joined their London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur instead.
Though Folarin says he is always happy that he made the choice of moving to Emirates Stadium, instead of White Hat Lane back then, he confessed that it was a dilemma of sort for him, considering that it was Spurs who first made an offer for his signature.
Folarin said he was close to joining Tottenham before his switch to Arsenal seven years ago, as he was already on trials at Spurs before he was spotted by a Gunners’ scout, Alan Knowles.
At that time, Folarin, who was part of England’s winning team at the European U17 Championship this year, was playing for Sunday League side, Aldersbrook, and needed a big breakthrough for his career.
The 17-year-old rising star, who is now a second-year scholar at Arsenal, is happy that he finally settled down with Arsenal.
In the past campaign, he had his best season, with 14 goals in all competitions and made his debut for the club’s under-23 team in the Premier League 2, which he admits added to his happiness for taking the right decision.
Folarin disclosed: ”I was really happy, but I was also trialing with Tottenham, who had expressed an interest earlier.
”I had a six-week trial with Arsenal but had to keep a connection with Spurs just in case I didn’t get an offer.
”I was speaking to Spurs again but thankfully Arsenal signed me and I have been with the club ever since.”
