"He's a very exciting player to have in your team" - Aaron Ramsey tells Arsenal to keep hold of 21-year-old star at club

Former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey has urged manager Mikel Arteta to keep Folarin Balogun at the club next season.

The 21-year-old USA international was on loan at Stade Reims last season, where he scored 21 goals in 37 Ligue 1 games. However, there's a chance that despite an impressive season in France, he could leave the club this summer.

West Ham United are interested in signing Balogun, but Arteta wants to assess him during the pre-season before making a decision. Ramsey, who spent 11 years at the Emirates, wants the Spanish tactician to retain the striker.

The Welshman told the Daily Star, via the Mirror:

"I’m not the Arsenal manager, but Balogun’s very good. We played against him a couple of times, and from what I saw there, he's a very exciting player to have in your team.

"Arsenal have many great players, but he's definitely got the quality. And, yes, he's good enough for the Premier League."

Arsenal already have Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard and Eddie Nketiah as their options up front. If Balogun stays at the club next season, there's a chance that he could struggle for regular playing time.

Throughout his 12-year-long stay on the Gunners' books, the New York-born forward has played just 10 senior games.

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Pundit urges Arsenal not to use Kai Havertz as No. 9

Another player Folarin Balogun could compete with for playing time next season is Kai Havertz.

The Germany international, as per Football.London, is close to joining the Gunners from Chelsea for £60 million. He had a troublesome time with the Blues last season, scoring just nine goals in 47 games across competitions.

Havertz was largely used as a No. 9 at Chelsea by Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, but Jay Bothroyd doesn't want Mikel Arteta to repeat that experiment. The former Cardiff City striker tweeted (h/t @jaybothroyd):

"If he’s going to play as a No. 8, I think it’s a good signing. Wide player or striker definitely not."

Havertz, 24, can play in a variety of positions up front and in midfield. He played as a centre-forward 29 times while featuring in the no. 10 role on 10 occasions last season. He can and has played out wide a handful of times throughout his career as well.

It remains to be seen what plan Arteta has in store for the former Bayer Leverkusen playmaker.