Arsenal star told to ‘put pressure’ on Arteta to seal transfer

Albert Sambi Lokonga has been told to exert pressure on Arsenal to get them to lower their price, according to a report.

The forgotten Gunners midfielder is spending the season out on loan at Sevilla and, when fit, is an eminently important part of Garcia Pimienta’s side. Despite struggling with hamstring problems, the manager hailed Lokonga as an ‘incredible player’ on Tuesday.

“Look at his CV. Sambi gives you that calmness in the game, that pause, he seems to make everything easy, he has the ability to give pause and judgement,” he said.

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“Injuries have prevented him from having continuity, but the other day we saw his level. He’s 25 years old, he’s got a lot ahead of him, for me he’s an incredible player.”

Lokonga already showed promise on loan at Luton Town last season, but it wasn’t enough for Arsenal to keep him around. Sevilla, on the other hand, are delighted to have him and want to make his stay permanent.

Lokonga told to agitate for lower price

The LaLiga side have a €10 million to €12m buy option, but this fee is a little bit too steep for a club that has struggled massively to stay on an even keel financially in recent years.

Therefore, Vamos Mi Sevilla FC reports that recruitment chief Victor Orta is determined to pursue a tried and tested method of pushing that price down in formal negotiations.

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Similarly to what he did with Lucien Agouma, who was signed from Inter for just €4m after an initial loan, Orta will try to convince Lokonga to agitate for a move, encouraging the player to implore Mikel Arteta and Edu to lower their demands for the Belgian.

Moreover, with Lokonga clearly not in Arteta’s plans and on an expiring contract, the former Leeds boss is confident that he won’t have to exercise that hefty purchase option to sign the midfielder.