Im gonna stick with him
Ive liked him when he has played in the Partey role.
I think to come in last night and play in that more forward position which he hasnt played for us maybe since pre season, was always going to be difficult, couple that with the whole team having a bad game last night and he was onto a loser.
Very disappointing how little he showed throughout the the Europa League group stage, was really expecting / hoping for more.
He’s 23 now, that ain’t the sort of age you go out on loan, that’s the sort of age you decide to make it at a big club if you’re good enough.
In the end he was a cheap punt like Tavares - £15m fee and reportedly about 50k per week in wages - and it looks like he won’t work out. He’s got some skills but he doesn’t do anything exceptional and the mentality Kompany raved about has been nowhere to be seen.
If you’re a team languishing in 5-8th place then you can give these players years and years but if you have real ambitions you need to be willing to move on. We need a better backup to Partey and as a Xhaka backup I’d rather see ESR given some room to develop in that role and/or Patino get a chance.
The good thing is that it should be easy to get all or most of our money back with this kind of player given that he is young, on cheap wages, and people won’t instinctively knock him for not making it at a high flying Arsenal in the way they would knock a player for not making it at an 8th place Arsenal.
Kompany is a fraud btw
Noticed it yesterday as well but more people are picking up on Arteta dodging praising Lokonga yesterday.
Every time he’s addressed Lokonga recently reminds me very much of the way he used to address Tavares. He doesn’t necessarily throw them under the bus but he’s careful not to praise them for the sake of it, even when the interviewer suggests that.
Sambi certainly on the list of players to go next summer.
this guy is no good in any position, he stifles attacks and cant defend either he is just a vacant hole in midfield. We might as well start with 10 and leave that huge gap there to be exploited which it always is when he is playing.
His output doesn’t justify his languid workrate.
If he was spraying passes like Partey, it would make sense. In his current form, he was not even better than Elneny (who I am glad is back).
Looks like he’ll be off on loan next season and then sold in summer 24.
He’s basically invisible whenever he starts. He doesn’t have the attitude of a Martinelli or even Nketiah, who will work hard to turn things around if needed.
The compilation videos of him in Belgium are a stark contrast to what he does on the pitch for us. Not seeing that passing range with any consistency, that press resistance, line breakers.
He’s just a really nothing performer, and his only real contributions are poor mobility / lack of defensive work rate.
Yep exactly this mate. Been saying for a while there’s just nothing about him that stands out. No drive, very nonchalant, lacks the energy and aggression you need to play in that vital position.
We have a host of young talent but this guy aint one of them.
Thought he perforned okay earlier in the season but he really just isn’t good enough. Hopefully we continue our strong season and we can get 15m for him from some dumb club that thinks he still might have something.
Depending on our business in January. I can see him moving in January.
He isn’t really trusted by Arteta anymore and with Elneny returning, ESR coming back after the WC and not to mention a potential midfielder acquisition in January he may end up really low in the pecking order.
He certainly looks to be done. Not sure an outstanding game really puts him back in contention.
A shame but we can still flip him for another prospect.
Lol, didn’t get called up for the World Cup and the commiserations online are going wild.
Doubt he should have expected to be called up after his statements recently.
Meh player, shit attitude. Doubt Belgium will miss him.
Why on Earth would this guy get called up? He is the definition of passenger on the pitch.
If a World Cup year can’t make this dude run around, then nothing will 
He’d probably blame it on Arteta…we gotta ask Kompany for a refund here.
Can probably write off any interest from him now.
Will sulk and wait for a summer transfer.
We’ll still make our money back (and more) when he goes. Disappointing it’s not gonna happen for him here but it’s far from a disaster.
Really? From who?
I don’t think he’s done anything to make anyone want to pay £17m+ for him in his time here. I see no reason for any PL club want him. This feels like a loan to Toulouse with a fee like £9m after kind of deal to me.
Only from the POV that we are short on numbers.
Not been there for us when we needed him. Costly last season tbf.
He ate minutes in the EL group stage allowing us to keep Partey fresh. Idgaf if he starts in the FA Cup and we go out there too. At this point I don’t think he’s good enough but we should be able to manage his exposure enough that it doesn’t kill us especially since we should be recruiting in January.
@Craigie I understand your skepticism but if Morgan Gibbs-White is going for over 20m it tells me there will always be some teams in the league with more money than sense. And you know, if it takes a loan to sell him, that’s fine too. This is the next hurdle for Edu to clear imo. He built a good squad, lowered the salary bill and went hard on speculation. Is Sambi going to get us 60m? No way. But he’ll go somewhere and we’ll take our cash and move on.