Sambi Lokonga joined Arsenal during the summer of 2021.
The midfielder arrived from Anderlecht with very little experience at the top level. Despite this, Mikel Arteta made use of his talents on a regular basis early in the 2021/22 campaign.
However, as the season wore on, Lokonga saw his minutes gradually decline. In fact, from gameweek 14 to gameweek 37, the 22-year-old made just six appearances, only three of which saw him feature for more than 15 minutes.
2022/23 has seen the Belgian continue to struggle for minutes in north London.
He has made six Premier League appearances so far, but only two of those came as a starter.
Instead, Mikel Arteta has opted for the in-form pair of Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka, with Lokonga’s only starts in the league coming due to injuries to said players.
“Honestly, it’s difficult. I’m at one of the best clubs in England. I could have played somewhere else every weekend, but that wouldn’t have been the right solution for me,” the midfield said.
“It’s a personal decision [to stay at Arsenal]. I wanted to give myself another year to stay at Arsenal and then see what happens.”
“At the end of last season, I almost snapped,” he added. “I called my agent to ask him if staying at Arsenal was a good idea. He comforted me in my choice, even though I know I need to start more often to develop.”
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