Arsenal legend urges club to avoid wasting money on megastar as Folarin Balogun signs a new contract

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Arsenal are still in a rebuilding phase and they could be for a few seasons, so the most important thing for Mikel Arteta is to get the balance of the squad right.

Ultimately what you want is to sign players who are young, cheap and can be developed before moving on for a big fee, but you still need to have some experience and quality in there to keep you competitive.

That’s been an issue for Arsenal recently as they keep falling into the trap of giving big contracts to players like Mesut Ozil or Willian – players who don’t improve the team, have no re-sale value and who don’t contribute enough.

READ MORE: Photo: Two Arsenal stars absent from training ahead of Slavia Prague clash but Azeez and Balogun take part

Sergio Aguero will be in-demand this summer as he leaves Man City on a free transfer, and a report from Goal has linked him with a possible move to the Emirates.

Arsenal legend Nigel Winterburn also spoke to Freesupertips recently about that potential move, and you can see that he’s not a fan:

“Listen, I have no problem with age with players and he’s proven quality, but over the last season and a half, he’s had a lot of injuries. That would be my big one worry and it also would depend on how you want to play.

“You can’t doubt his quality of what we’ve seen. Within the Premier League, it would be a free transfer, but then the wages. Are you going to get that money back? Are you stopping the progression of other players?”

It’s also worth remembering that it now looks like Folarin Balogun will be staying at the club after agreeing to a new contract, so they really need to give the playing time to someone like him instead.

Aguero turns 33 this summer and Aubameyang turns 32 so if we work on the assumption that the Argentine did join, then they would be paying a lot of money to two ageing strikers who have injury issues and their pace will start to desert them soon.

In two years they would likely leave for nothing so two top quality players need to be replaced, while Balogun will probably move on because his playing time is limited.

Arsenal need to ensure that Balogun gets to play and hopefully he’ll be there to take over from Lacazette and Aubameyang in a couple of years, so it’s hard to disagree with Winterburn on this one.

Aguero is a legitimate superstar but it’s not like he’s the only missing piece that’s preventing Arsenal from being a contender again, so they need to play the long game when it comes to building themselves back up.

More Stories Nigel Winterburn Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Sergio Aguero

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