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✍️ OFFICIAL Sambi Lokonga

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yybecause

Formerly known as ArsenaLover
haven't watched him in a game, but he won me over on youtube and the fact he comes from arguably the best academy in Europe.
and no, I don't get crazy about many youtube compilations
 

gunner4lyfe

Established Member
The only thing annoys me that we are going to spend 20m for him, and at the same time, we will only get the same amount for Xhaka. As it stands, I rather keep Xhaka than selling him cheap.
So he can then leave for even less the following year while costing us points? Makes sense
 

A_G

Rice Rice Baby 🎼🎵
A-M CL Draft Campeón 🏆
Think I mentioned him about 2 years ago, @American_Gooner might have the receipts

Two years, six months...close enough
 

dashsnow17

Doesn’t Rate Any Of Our Attackers
Trusted ⭐

Two years, six months...close enough

Nah man I swear I mentioned him years ago. Your machine's broken!

giphy.gif
 
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LG10

Well-Known Member
This probably means the end of willock which means I don’t want this guy. Willock is better and more talented than any young cm not named camavinga.
 

AeNwT

Active Member
This probably means the end of willock which means I don’t want this guy. Willock is better and more talented than any young cm not named camavinga.
Why do you think it means the end for Willock ? I thought he was staying
 

Red London

Anti-Simp Culture
Trusted ⭐
So he never made the Belgium squad despite them not having many mids of any note?
KDB, Tielemans, Witsel, Praet, Dendoncker all more experienced and ready for a major tournament Belgium are tryna win.

The only guy in their squad list for mids who sounds like they won their place on the back of a cereal box is Hans Vanaken of Club Brugge. He’s an AM though.
 

Rasmi

Negative Nancy

Country: England
This signing is the equivalent of buying Bissouma from Lille before going to Brighton.

Never heard of this player until we were linked but big fan of this approach.
Bissouma wasn’t the player he was 2 years ago. He took his time and learned English football at Brighton. If we gonna take young talents in before they go to smaller clubs in Uk. We have to give them time and learn in our first team. So we have to lower our expectations
 

Gn1212

Well-Known Member
This probably means the end of willock which means I don’t want this guy. Willock is better and more talented than any young cm not named camavinga.
Willock will survive. We need depth in midfield. There was a report recently that we haven't offered Elneny a new deal and there's no indication that we will. Would love Willock and another young midfielder to push on Partey and his partner.
 

Xln

Get me Jesus on the phone 📲
Guy is insane and to anyone who doubt he isn't ready for a higher league i suggest you to watch 90 min replays of him.

He will kill it in england as well
 

Elite Smarts

Gouendizi 🤦‍♂️
Anyone got access to this?

Arsenal’s recent focus has turned to Belgium Under-21 international Albert Sambi Lokonga as their need for midfield reinforcements heightens.

The Athletic revealed the club’s interest in the 21-year-old last week and a formal bid has now been made in the region of €15 million, with Anderlecht holding out for closer to €20 million.

He impressed at Anderlecht this season, taking the captain’s armband from December onwards and earning a place on Roberto Martinez’s Euro 2020 standby list.

Lokonga emerging as a transfer target provides proof that top-of-the-pitch creativity is not the sole priority for Mikel Arteta and technical director Edu this summer. Although a knockback in the pursuit of Martin Ødegaard will disturb transfer plans, making their midfield more durable and dynamic is a front Arsenal will continue to fight on.

It is an area that has become too pedestrian and predictable. Arsenal ranked fifth in the Premier League in 2020-21 for total distance of passes (341,180 yards) but dropped down to 13th for progressive passing distance (93,564 yards), with much of their play too passive.

Arteta continuing with a 3-4-3 formation in the first half of the season contributed to this. Rather than looking forward to hit a No 10 or a striker, those in midfield tended to look wide to the wing-backs, who carried most of the attacking responsibility during this time.

Upon reverting to a 4-2-3-1, more vertical passing lanes opened up. Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka in particular benefited from this, ending the season rated 47/99 and 40/99 for progressive passing respectively by smarterscout. Smarterscout is a site that gives players a rating from 0-99, relating to either how often a player does a given stylistic action compared with others playing in that position.

Xhaka’s role, dropping between centre-back and left-back, was tailor-made for him, so the best example of this from Partey came in March’s comeback 3-3 draw against West Ham.



After receiving the ball under pressure from Jesse Lingard, Partey fires the ball through traffic into Alexandre Lacazette, who immediately looks for Bukayo Saka coming off the right.



This route forward was instrumental in Arsenal’s wresting back control of the game, as Partey helped improve the tempo alongside Martin Ødegaard on the day.





That urgency was not always present, however. Ensuring it is more of a feature in Arsenal’s play is necessary and Lokonga has the tools for that. Used as both a No 6 in a 4-3-3 (17 times) and a No 8 in a 4-2-3-1 (20 times) last season, he displayed a willingness to move the ball forward, whether that be by carrying it himself or passing.

Ending the campaign, his progressive passing rating of 55/99 bested Xhaka (47/99), Partey (40/99) and Mohamed Elneny’s (15/99) rating, which may play into the fact that he retained the ball at a lesser rate — albeit just above the Premier League average for a defensive midfielder.



Tending to attempt medium-range passes most often, this may be most useful in that middle third but it is important to consider how his style will translate into the Arsenal midfield.

As explored last week, Arteta has always been keen on a 4-3-3 system. He attempted it immediately during Project Restart but abandoned those plans due to the tools available at the time. Lokonga presents the option to move to that with his experience playing at the base of midfield in the same formation for Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht, where medium-range forward passes are vital.



Head up upon receiving the ball against Germany Under-21s, Lokonga quickly sees the picture and decides to pass the ball forwards.



If you look through videos of his season, passes like this will crop up frequently. These are the types of through balls that need to be made more often at the Emirates Stadium.

As well as having that experience, when given the licence to roam in a 4-2-3-1, Lokongo has proven he has the spatial awareness and agility to move away from pressure and travel with the ball.

In his seven games for Belgium Under-21s, he has been primarily used as a No 8, which is when he gets the freedom to advance a tad more, helping create better passing angles.



As Orel Mangala pushed forward, Lokonga ghosted behind his marker to show for the ball.

His presence attracted a marker, he plays the ball inside and it’s immediately popped back into the vacated space.



Whether it be as a No 6 or a No 8 that ability to move away from trouble will be invaluable, especially as it appears an innate aspect of his game.

As a midfielder that can fulfil both holding and box-to-box roles, what he does out of possession will be important. It is clear, however, that stylistically, there will be more emphasis on what Lokonga does in possession rather than viewing him as a destroyer.



In regards to tangible defensive actions, Lokonga is not too active, as seen in his ratings for ball recoveries and interceptions (20/99), and disrupting opposition moves (23/99). It is rare for him to rack up fouls, tackles, clearances and blocks when defending. Instead, he tries to defend spaces, which would suit Arteta, who made a big deal of the issue last season.

Between January and March, an incredibly high line was deployed. This worked well in January’s 3-1 win against Southampton.

Although he did not explain the reasoning, the Spaniard did similar against Manchester City and Leicester City in February, with Pablo Mari taking incredibly advanced positions to limit space inside.

Rather than relying on a centre-back to do that job, adding another capable midfielder who can block key passing lanes and apply pressure appears logical.

Though Lokonga is not always engaged in defensive duels, he is an effective tackler and is just above average when it comes to winning open-play headers, helped by his 6ft frame.



Ever-important in this discussion, however, is how his style will translate at Arsenal under Arteta.

For how encouraging his use of space when receiving passes is and the decisions he goes on to make with those passes, the time and space Lokonga has been given in the Jupiler League is much more than he would get in the Premier League.

Overcoaching is an accusation that has been laid at Arteta also and if that comes into play, and he is directing where the ball should go too often, that may leave less room for the instinct needed in midfield.

As a result, if Arsenal secure Lokonga’s signature, expecting carbon copies of his performances for Anderlecht immediately may not be wise. Captaining Anderlecht at 21 years old and overcoming two knee injuries to play 50 games over the past two seasons are impressive notes to his CV but allowing him time to develop is crucial.

With the qualities Lokonga possesses, this definitely feels like a step in the right direction. The dynamic of Arsenal’s midfield has been too static for too long. He has the qualities to build on the arrival of Partey last summer and add vibrancy to the middle third of the pitch, with much more room for him to develop.

More must be done to truly strengthen ahead of next season — Arsenal would be wise to continue their search for a creative midfield option — but, as the first active move of the summer, this could be a promising one.
 
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