Almost every player who has worked with Mikel Arteta at Arsenal loves him.
The Spaniard isn’t just phenomenal with tactics; his man management is one of the best in the business as well. That is what makes him so good.
However, like all other managers, Arteta cannot keep everyone happy. The Arsenal boss had to change a lot of things, and that led to moving players on when he felt they were not good enough.
Albert Sambi Lokonga is one such player, and his brother has now accused Arteta of not treating the Belgian fairly.
Albert Sambi Lokonga’s brother slams Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta
Arsenal signed Lokonga from Anderlecht in the summer of 2021.
The Belgian midfielder was viewed as a huge talent in his home country, and many people expected him to be a star in the middle of the Gunners’ park.
Manchester City legend Vincent Kompany went as far as comparing Lokonga to Yaya Toure – that’s how highly rated he was.
However, after a decent start to life at the Emirates, Lokonga fell out of favour, and he spent three loan spells away from the club at Crystal Palace, Luton Town and most recently, Sevilla.
In the summer, Arsenal sold the 26-year-old to Hamburg in Germany. Now, his brother, Paul-Jose Mpoku, has fired a few shots at the Gunners boss.
He said, as per Walfoot: “When you look at his performances at Luton Town, Crystal Palace or even Sevilla, he plays like a boss. It’s just that he’s scored fewer goals.
“Here at Hamburg, he’s scored two goals. But his performances haven’t necessarily changed compared to when he was at Arsenal.
“When you look at his early days at Arsenal, he played some magnificent matches. He plays big games.
“It’s just that at a certain point, Mikel Arteta… That’s where I sometimes get angry with certain coaches. He wasn’t 100 per cent fair to him.
“Otherwise, when you look at his performances everywhere he’s been, he’s been successful. But when you score, it makes more noise.”
Was Albert Sambi Lokonga treated unfairly at Arsenal?
Lokonga, who has been described as ‘brilliant’, produced a few good performances at Arsenal in his first few months at the club.
The Belgian showed glimpses of what he is capable of, but he was never the first choice under Arteta when everyone was fit.
Arsenal had better midfielders at the club at the time, and they signed more in the following windows, thus pushing Lokonga further down the pecking order.
Arteta was never unfair to the Belgian; he just did what was best for the club. The fact that Arsenal are now fighting for the Premier League and Champions League proves that he was right.
As for Lokonga, as well as he did at Crystal Palace and Sevilla, neither club was ready to sign him permanently. If he’s not good enough for them, he’s definitely not on Arsenal’s level.
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