Arsenal star announces summer transfer

Arsenal midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga has announced his intention to stay at loan club Sevilla permanently.

The Belgian has been a forgotten man in North London for some time. Despite an encouraging loan spell at Luton Town last season, Lokonga was deemed surplus to requirements at Arsenal and again sent away temporarily.

He joined Sevilla for the season and has played regularly when fit. The hamstring problem that kept him out for several months last term resurfaced in the early stages of this campaign but he has been pretty much a guaranteed starter since October.

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Lokonga has helped Sevilla improve compared to 2023/24 when they were hovering dangerously close to the relegation zone at times and the spectre of a potential demotion is not an issue for the 12th-placed side this time around.

Since November, Sevilla have lost only to the two Madrid giants in LaLiga and Lokonga was not in the squad for the clash with Atletico. Indeed, the Andalusians are just four points off a European spot, illustrating their improvement.

Lokonga determined to stay

Lokonga has found a home in southern Spain and given his non-existent role at Arsenal, he is determined to leave the Gunners in the summer. Ideally, he would like to stay at Sevilla.

“I feel very good. I’m growing,” Lokonga said ahead of Sunday’s clash with Barcelona. “I feel better with each game. After leaving Anderlecht, Sevilla is the club where I feel very, very good. I want to stay but it’s not just my decision. It’s early days and we’ll see each other at the end of the year.”

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Lokonga is under contract at Arsenal until 2026, so he is all but guaranteed to leave the Gunners in the summer. It is thought that Sevilla have a purchase option worth €12 million at most, although the club’s financial situation means that even such a fairly low figure is a massive outlay.