Albert Sambi Lokonga has returned to Arsenal after successive loans in the last two seasons and is partaking in pre-season training with Mikel Arteta’s squad.
The Belgian impressed on loan at Sevilla last season, although he was limited to just 22 La Liga appearances due to injury issues.
The Spanish side rejected the chance to sign the 25-year-old on a permanent deal, with the €12 million buy option deemed too excessive.
That said, Arsenal are still expected to sell Lokonga this summer, and they could even look to use him as a pawn in a prospective swap deal for one of their transfer targets.
Arsenal fans believe Sambi Lokonga has ‘bulked up’ after reporting for 2025 pre-season training
After impressing in his limited outings for Sevilla and Luton in the last two years, Lokonga was touted as a potential Thomas Partey replacement earlier this summer.
Backing up the likes of Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice was genuinely on the cards, but Arsenal instead opted to sign Christian Norgaard to fulfil this role in Arteta’s squad.
The signing of the Dane likely makes Lokonga surplus to requirements once again and there’ll undoubtedly be potential suitors looking to pry the former Anderlecht captain away from North London this summer.
Despite likely having no future at the Emirates, Lokonga reported to training this week, and Arsenal fans have noted something striking about his appearance in some of the training pictures that have been released.
One fan wrote: “Just me or does Lokonga look like he’s bulked up a bit? Tough when you’re in the same picture as Havertz these days, but just an observation.”
Many fans replied to this observation in agreement, with one writing: “He does indeed.”
Another added: “100% stronger but I’m happy to see it.”
Another fan wrote: “The lad’s jacked up.”
Mikel Arteta could keep Sambi Lokonga if he impresses in pre-season
While building some additional muscle alone won’t help Lokonga forge a future at Arsenal, producing some encouraging displays in pre-season might.
A move away for the Belgium international doesn’t appear imminent, and thus, he’s likely to be on the plane to Singapore to take on AC Milan and Newcastle United.
If he does travel to south-east Asia, then he’s likely to be granted some minutes on the pitch by Arteta, and he’ll have a chance to impress the Spaniard and demonstrate that he’s still capable of playing at a high level.
| Sambi Lokonga’s La Liga Statistics 2024/25 | |
| Appearances | 22 |
| Assists | 2 |
| Pass Accuracy | 89.4% |
| Progressive Passes per 90 | 5.71 |
| Key Passes per 90 | 1.17 |
| Tackles per 90 | 1.35 |
| Interceptions per 90 | 0.55 |
| Progressive Carries per 90 | 1.47 |
Physicality has been an issue for the midfielder, so any indication that he’s bulked up could certainly improve his game.
Last season, Arsenal’s campaign was hampered by persistent injury issues, and thus, Arteta may be inclined to keep hold of any players he has at his disposal who could leave, to ensure he isn’t left short again.
This could give Lokonga a chance of remaining in the fold in N5, and he’d likely be delighted to do so, given how his career has tailed off somewhat.
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