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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that the club are on the verge of committing Folarin Balogun to a new long-term contract.
The teenager's future has been a regular topic of speculation and earlier this year, it was claimed that as many as 15 clubs were interested in him.
He had the opportunity to sign a pre-contract, but has snubbed the advances to extend his stay with the north London giants.
Balogun has agreed to a new contract beyond June, but Arteta emphasised that the deal will be made official when the formalities are complete.
He told Arsenal.com: "We’re going to make it official when it’s official and everything is done, but as I said before, I was being very positive that he wants to stay at the club. We want him to stay at the club, so we are very close."
Balogun has yet to make his league debut, but he has impressed in the Europa League with two goals and one assist from four outings.
The 19-year-old could get a regular run with the first-team next season with the futures of Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah uncertain.
Both players will enter the final year of their contracts this summer. The latter seems more likely to leave the club due to the lack of game time.
Written by Sri Aswin
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