'We talked for 20 minutes' - Balogun shares valuable advice he got from Arsenal's greatest scorer

England U21 international of Nigerian descent Folarin Balogun is having a banner season at French Ligue 1 club Stade de Reims. 

Heading into the 27th round of matches, the Hale End Academy graduate is the fifth top scorer in the division with fifteen goals from twenty five appearances. 

Reims have not been beaten in the Ligue 1 for six months largely due to the form of the Arsenal-owned player. 

The six-time French champions logically want to retain the services of Balogun for next season but could be priced out of a deal, coupled with the fact that he is on the radar of clubs in the Serie A and Premier League. 

One of his goals this season came against  Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes with Arsenal's greatest goalscorer in history with 228 goals in 376 games, Thierry Henry among the spectators. 

Balogun was spotted having a chat with Henry at the stadium just before kickoff against PSG. 

Speaking on his relationship with Henry, Balogun revealed that he received tips from the 1998 World Cup winner on how he could succeed in France.

In quotes relayed by Foot Mercato, Balogun told Onze Mondial : "Before the PSG match, I went on a lawn reconnaissance, just to see the stadium and the quality of the pitch.

"It was then that I saw Thierry Henry, since I had already seen him at Arsenal and we had already discussed. I wanted to greet him. We talked for 20 minutes.

"He gave me advice about life in France, how to handle the pressure, how to express myself, how to stay confident…

"At the end, he told me that I shouldn't hold back just because we were playing PSG, he told me that I was going to have plenty of space to exploit and that if I managed well, I was going to score. And that's what happened."

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Copyright ANS

All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from allnigeriasoccer.com