New shirt number confirmed for Arsenal first-teamer | OneFootball

Albert Sambi Lokonga has been handed a new shirt number with Arsenal following the expiry of his loan spell with Sevilla.

Photo via Sevilla on Instagram

Albert Sambi Lokonga was among the Arsenal group returning to first-team training on Wednesday, after his loan to Sevilla expired on June 30th.

Sevilla had an option to buy in Lokonga’s contract, but they opted not to activate it, meaning the midfielder has returned to his parent club.

But after Lokonga signed for Sevilla, Arsenal signed Mikel Merino and handed the Spaniard the Belgian’s old number – 23. As a result, Lokonga hasn’t been able to reclaim the number upon his return.

Photo via Arsenal.com

Instead, Lokonga has been pictured in training wearing 28, which is evidently his new number. Other Arsenal players to wear the number 28 in the last decade or so include Joe Willock, Joel Campbell, and Kieran Gibbs.

The night before his return to training with Arsenal, Lokonga shared a message on his Instagram story.

“Let’s go into pre-season more focused than ever,” Lokonga wrote. “We don’t know what the next season holds yet, but I’m grateful for every experience and to every person that I get to work with, every player I play with and to every fan that I connect with.

“Grateful to live the life I live and I will continue to give everything! Let’s enjoy the process before the process becomes the past.”

Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images

Now 25 years old, Lokonga made 23 appearances for Sevilla in the 2024/25 campaign. He was a regular starter when fit, but a few hamstring injuries prevented him from playing a more regular role for the club.

With Sevilla performing so poorly and failing to qualify for European competition, funds will be tight this summer. The La Liga side evidently didn’t feel they could afford to invest around £10m of their limited budget in making Lokonga’s loan permanent.

At one point it was possible Lokonga would be a free agent this summer, with Sevilla opting out of signing him and his Arsenal deal running down. But the Gunners activated their option to extend to 2026.

A summer exit remains the most likely possibility, but it remains to be seen whether a club comes in for Lokonga at a decent price.