Anglo-Nigerian footballer, Folarin Balogun, has shared his excitement following his Arsenal debut in their 3-0 win over Dundalk.

Speaking after Thursday night’s Europa League match, the 19-year-old said he had “loads of emotions” when he came on for Eddie Nketiah 16 minutes before the finals whistle.

He told arsenal.com: “Yeah it feels great. It’s a moment I have been waiting for for a little while so to finally get it feels great. I can only thanks Mikel ad the staff for this opportunity and I look forward to doing it more often.

“It’s been tough, I’ve been at a few other clubs doing trials and stuff like that but I’ve been working my way through the academy and I think as time has gone on I’ve become a better player. I think that’s shown in my performances and I think it’s good now to get the recognition that my performances deserve.”

On the moment he entered the game, Balogun added: “Loads of emotions really. I knew that this was the moment I’d been waiting for but at the same time I knew there was a job that needed to be done. So I just tried to come on, make runs, be a nuisance and just help the team.”

Fellow youngster, Joe Willock was full of praise for Balogun in his first appearance for the Gunners.

“I thought he did well,” he told Arsenal.com. “It’s never easy coming on for such a big team and making your debut.

“…he’s scoring a lot of goals in the under-23s and that’s all he can do. I’m happy for him and I congratulated him because I was once in that position. I told him to kick on, keep working hard and that he’d get more opportunities at this club.”

Manager, Mikel Arteta revealed that the club believes in Balogun adding that he has a future at the club if he wants.

“He’s a player that I really like,” said the Arsenal boss. “Obviously I’ve got this situation and I believe it’s later than what I would like because I wasn’t here when everything started to develop but yes, he’s a player that I would like to give chances to.

“That’s why he was in the squad today and I showed him that yes, we count on him and we believe in him and if he wants, he’s going to have a future in the club.”