Forgotten Arsenal talent's future DECIDED
Tom Weber
- 31 Jul 2023 13:14 BST
- 3 min read
Forgotten Arsenal man Albert Sambi Lokonga appears set to join Burnley on loan.
The 23-year-old's time at the Emirates has not gone to plan and head coach Mikel Arteta has now made a decision on Lokonga's immediate future. He will not feature for the Gunners this term and will instead head out on loan again, as has been rumoured for some time given the player's previous statements.
"I will try to go somewhere where I can play," Lokonga told a YouTube channel earlier this summer, "so that's the most important thing for me - to have some games and play game after game." Now, Lokonga is set to reunite with former boss Vincent Kompany at Burnley.
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Lokonga thrived under his compatriot at Anderlecht, prompting Arsenal to shell out €17.5 million on him in 2021. Since then, however, the midfielder has struggled to make an impact when deputising for the now-departed Granit Xhaka or Thomas Partey, finding it particularly hard to cope with the physical demands of his position and the Premier League.
Unsurprisingly, then, Lokonga has only made 39 appearances thus far for the north London club, though he did play more than 1000 minutes in his first season at the Emirates.
Another loan
Having struggled to get into Arsenal's pace-setting team last term, the 23-year-old joined Crystal Palace on loan in January, but there too he found game time hard to come by, especially following the sacking of Patrick Vieira.
At Burnley, if a deal were to get wrapped up, he will look to rebuild his career and it could be a good environment for him to develop and acclimatise to the Premier League.
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Though Kompany is a highly-rated up-and-coming coach and Burnley have spent a fair bit of money already, expectations won't be too high of the young promoted side. Looking at Burnley's central midfield, Lokonga must be confident of being able to get significant minutes this season.
