What happened to Arsenal's "new Yaya Toure" after being squeezed out by Arteta
Albert Sambi Lokonga was tipped to follow in the footsteps of a Premier League legend upon his arrival at Arsenal, but things haven't exactly gone to plan.
Signed from Belgian giants Anderlecht, who he captained at just 21 years of age under the guidance of Vincent Kompany, Lokonga joined the Gunners when the midfield pecking order was already topped by Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey. He was expected to be little more than an understudy in the early stages of his time in north London.
However, fitness issues to others meant Lokonga was soon thrust into the spotlight and for a while, he impressed. The Belgian was able to operate as a progressive option in the middle of the park and didn't look out of place, but was hardly setting the world alight either.
The underwhelming run of form Lokonga endured led to questions among the Emirates faithful, who expected plenty more, not least because of Kompany's glowing assessment. The Manchester City legend waxed lyrical over the midfielder, going as far to compare him to Yaya Toure.
"When I was still a player for City, I was coming to a point where I was thinking about my future. Management? Carry on? Sign a new deal?" Kompany told Rio Ferdinand's Vibe with FIVE podcast. "I was watching football from different countries, different places. And I saw Sambi play his first game - his first two games - then he got an injury to his knee.
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"But the first thing I did when I saw Sambi is I went to Mikel and said, 'You've got to watch this guy, he's the new Yaya Toure.' Anyway, nothing comes of it. He's got a cruciate ligament and then I end up falling into the management job at Anderlecht, so I'm working with him now. And I had the same conversation about him with Mikel, I still believe the same thing now.
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Sambi Lokonga is still on the books at Arsenal but currently on loan at Luton Town"I'm not sure I'll do him a favour by saying this kind of stuff. What I like with Sambi - and it's rare in football, what Yaya did have - is he wants the ball no matter what. If the teams not doing well, give the ball to Sambi. If the team's doing well, give the ball to Sambi. He will never hide away from his responsibility."
High praise, too high as it turns out. Lokonga has unfortunately never once turned in a Yaya Toure-style performance for Arsenal, if he had, the Belgium international wouldn't have been loaned to Luton this summer.
Fitness issues haven't helped Lokonga since making the move to the Premier League and he has actually spent the bulk of his time at Kennilworth Road sidelined with an injury that was sustained just three weeks after joining the Hatters. He'll be watching on when his loan club welcome his parent club to their stomping ground on Tuesday night.
Lokonga is stuck between a rock and a hard place at the moment, given it is almost certain that his long-term future is not at the Emirates. However, it's unlikely that Luton will fork out the required transfer fee to keep him on a permanent basis unless he enjoys a stellar second half of the season.
With that being said, Hatters boss Rob Edwards has spoken glowingly of the midfielder. "I really like him, he’s a brilliant person first and foremost, always smiling, always really positive, great around the place, but he’s a really good footballer as well," he explained.
However, Edwards seemed to stop conceded that as much as he'd like it, keeping Lokonga in the long-term isn't particularly realistic. the Luton manager added: “I would love to work with him for a longer period of time, but I don’t think that will all be down to me.
"He’s our player, but he’s obviously an Arsenal player as well, so I think a lot would have to happen." For now, Lokonga's full focus will just be on working out who he wants to win on Tuesday night.
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