3 weeks ago
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A player Thierry Henry recommended to Arsenal appears poised to leave the club for a modest sum, concluding his underwhelming stint with the Gunners.
During the summer of 2021, Arsenal acquired Albert Sambi Lokonga from Anderlecht. At that point, the Belgian international was regarded as a promising talent and a "natural leader" when he arrived at the Emirates Stadium in a transfer valued at approximately £17.2million.
Following 19 Premier League outings in his maiden season, he gradually fell out of favour under Mikel Arteta. He was loaned to Crystal Palace in January 2023, before another temporary stint with Luton Town preceded yet another loan arrangement at Sevilla.
The now 25-year-old appears destined for a permanent switch to Hamburg for what has been characterised as a "modest fee" as Arsenal confirm their decision to give up hope on him. He will be joined in Germany by Fabio Vieira, who is set to complete a loan deal. The Belgian's departure underlines the reality that Arsenal have abandoned hope in Sambi Lokonga despite Henry's endorsement.
Whilst working alongside the Belgium national squad, the Gunners icon encouraged his former club to secure the midfielder's signature after collaborating with him extensively.
Upon his arrival in north London, Sambi Lokonga revealed the guidance Henry had provided during their time together. He said: "I was with him for only two days.
"Then I left the camp with the national team. He gave me some advice about Arsenal, the way the people are, the mentality I need to have – some little things like that."
Arteta's high praise for the midfielder shortly after his arrival underscored the potential he saw in the then-youngster. Upon confirming the move, the Spanish manager told journalists: "Albert is a very intelligent player who has shown great maturity.
"He has been coached well by Vincent Kompany and his team at Anderlecht. I know Vincent very well and he speaks so highly of Albert and the positive impact he had on Anderlecht in recent seasons.
"We're confident Albert's ready for the next stage in his development and we're looking forward to welcoming a new member to our squad with his quality and presence."
Arteta brought Sambi Lokonga to Arsenal with an eye on the future. However, the young midfielder's plans were quickly shelved by the Spaniard, who instead chose to bolster his midfield with the costly acquisitions of stars like £105m man Declan Rice, Spanish midfield ace Martin Zubimendi for around £60m and Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad, reports the Mirror.
In a talk with the Standard in May, Sambi Lokonga didn't express regret over his move to Arsenal, but did concede it hasn't been entirely successful.
Speaking candidly about his uncertain situation at the time, he said: "At the end of the day, I did well and that was just part of the process. It is not everywhere you are going to go that you are going to succeed.
"When you arrive at a club like Arsenal, you don't have time to adapt. You need to be there directly and to perform. With Mikel [Arteta], I learned so much and, for me, he is one of the best coaches I have had in my career. It is how he is in the details, how he is predicting things that can happen on the pitch. He is a leader."
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