In recent transfer windows, Arsenal have become far better at selling their unwanted or wantaway players.
Seemingly gone are the days when the likes of Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang and Mesut Özil had to be released for nothing.
Instead, the North Londoners have been able to get sizable fees for players like Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Aaron Ramsdale.
eddie-nketiah-palace
However, just because a player is sold for a healthy fee doesn't mean the club won't regret letting them go down the line, which may be the case for someone sold last summer who has won comparisons to Kylian Mbappe and Dusan Vlahovic.
Arsenal's 2023 departures
The player in question was sold last summer, but before we get to him, let's examine how the other departures from last year have got on since leaving the Emirates, starting with the most successful of them all, Granit Xhaka.
Granit Xhaka Leverkusen Arsenal
Arsenal sold the Swiss international to Bayer Leverkusen for around £21m.
In his first campaign with the German club, he played a pivotal role in their invincible league and cup double, making 50 appearances across all competitions.
Unfortunately, things have not gone so well for Matt Turner, who was sold to Nottingham Forest in August last year for £7m plus add-ons.
The American international endured a torrid start to life at the City Ground and found himself out of the team entirely by February and was sent on a season-long loan to Crystal Palace this year, where he has made just a single appearance.
Matt-Turner-Nottingham-Forest
Now, while the Gunners certainly don't regret selling Turner last year, they may be regretting the sale of an exciting attacking talent who's showing positive signs so far this year, and has been compared to Mbappé and Vlahovic.
The sale Arsenal may regret making
So, to cut straight to the point, the player we're talking about is Folarin Balogun, who joined AS Monaco for £34m last summer, but before we get to how he's got on since moving to the French Riviera, let's examine these comparisons to Mbappé and Vlahovic.
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They primarily stem from FBref, which compares players in similar positions in Europe's top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and in this instance, has concluded that the Serbian is the fourth most similar forward to the American over the last 365 days, while the Frenchman is the sixth most similar.
The best way to see where this comparison has come from is to look at the underlying metrics in which the trio ranks closely, metrics including, but not limited to expected goals, actual goals, goals per shot and ball recoveries, all per 90.
Balogun & Vlahovic & Mbappe
Statistics per 90
Expected Goals
Goals
Goals per Shot
Ball Recoveries
Shots
Shot-Creating Action
Goal-Creating Actions
Key Passes
All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 League Season
On top of that, the former Gunner ranks closely with just the Real Madrid ace in a few metrics such as shots, shot and goal-creating actions and key passes, also all per 90.
Now, such comparisons might be reasons enough for the North Londoners to regret selling the "special" 23-year-old, as dubbed by podcast host Adam Keys, but he's also impressed from a pure output perspective.
For example, in 32 appearances last season, he scored eight goals and provided seven assists, and in just ten appearances this season, he's scored three goals and provided one assist, equating to an average of a goal involvement every 2.1 games last season and every 2.5 games this season.
Ultimately, Arsenal were able to get a good fee for Balogun last year, and that is something that should be applauded.
Folarin-Balogun-Monaco
However, he has since been compared to some of the best forwards in the world and put up decent numbers for Monaco, so there could be some regret about his sale in North London, especially as he'd be an ideal back-up to Kai Havertz at the moment.
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