"Wow!" - Arsenal star blown away by special video message from Giroud

Arsenal loanee Folarin Balogun has been surprised with a video message from former Gunners striker Olivier Giroud, praising his form in French football.

Balogun has impressed for Ligue 1 side Reims this season, scoring 16 goals in all competitions while on loan at Stade Auguste-Delaune.

Fifteen of his goals have come in the league and Balogun is in contention to be top scorer at the end of the season, with the English striker currently four behind the current leader – Lille striker Jonathan David.

In the build-up to Sunday's match against Monaco, Balogun was surprised with a congratulatory message form former Arsenal striker Giroud.

The France international, who is now at AC Milan, said he remembered Balogun from his time at the Emirates.

Giroud's special message for Balogun

Giroud said in the video presented to Balogun by Canal+: "Yo, what's up, baby Gunner?

"I hope you are good. I am glad to see you banging goals in Ligue 1 in France. I remember you when you played for the youth teams in Arsenal.

"I am very happy for you and you deserve to be there. Carry on like that. Keep it up. Wish you all the best, bro. Take care."

I had a interesting sit down with Canal + - Go and have a look 🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/x33AWzbGPY

— Balogun (@balogun) March 10, 2023

Balogun was delighted to receive the message from Giroud, who scored 105 goals in 253 games for Arsenal.

"Wow, it's very nice to see this. I didn't expect to see this. It's good," he said.

"He has played at the highest levels in Europe. There are not a lot of top strikers like Giroud. When I look at Giroud, I look at to his link-up play."

What's the next step for Balogun?

It is not yet clear if Balogun has a long-term future at Arsenal, with Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah ahead of him in the pecking order.

Arsenal could look to cash in on the 21-year-old when the summer transfer window opens but Arteta has hinted the striker is part of his plans moving forward.

"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," Arteta said last month.

“We discussed before whether it was the right place to go and other choices that he had. He was so convinced and I’m really happy for him because he deserves what he’s getting.

"He’s got something special. That's why we gave him a long-term contract and have faith in him, and give him the long period that he’s having now, because the period he’s having now is different to the one before at Middlesbrough."