Arsenal Midfielder’s Days Numbered After Pre-Season No-Show

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·8 agosto 2025

Arsenal Midfielder’s Days Numbered After Pre-Season No-Show

Arsenal will continue their pre-season with a final friendly before the commencement of the top-flight campaign. The Gunners will face Athletic Club in the Emirates Cup on Saturday evening, three days after hosting another Spanish side at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal lost to Villarreal last time out, a 3-2 scoreline that, in face value, is completely meaningless, but the performance would have left a lot to be desired. Despite the rather passive display, there were positives to take from the encounter.

When the line-up was released an hour before kick-off, supporters would have been quick to spot the likes of Viktor Gyökeres among others in the starting eleven, while Noni Madueke and Martin Zubimendi’s appearance on the bench would have generated excitement. Before and after the clash, however, I could not help but notice the continued absence of a certain Albert Sambi Lokonga from the match and, in fact, all of pre-season.

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Lokonga’s absence sends a clear message

In what is a firm indicator of where his future lies, the Belgian was an unused substitute against the Yellow Submarine yet again. The midfielder was present for the tour of Asia after a loan spell, but fans only got a glimpse of him in the various open training sessions conducted during the trip. He was an unused substitute in the three friendlies played in Asia, while his absence continued in familiar surroundings against Villarreal.

His omission will certainly come as a surprise considering minutes were offered to virtually the entirety of the squad throughout pre-season. Even a pair of 15-year-olds, Max Dowman and Marli Salmon, played significantly more than Lokonga combined. Given the season starts in just a week, I would be extremely surprised if he features against Athletic Club. Mikel Arteta will presumably want to go with a strong line-up ahead of Manchester United.

Lokonga (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

Player’s comments point to a summer exit

If there were any hopes of Lokonga remaining at the club this summer, his limited participation in pre-season will virtually put an end to them. The Gunners opted to extend his contract by a year this summer, but the player himself admitted he yearned for stability. The player said back in May, “The situation is really, really open,” he admitted. “To talk about my future… I can’t say anything, because I really don’t know where I will end up. I still have one year on my contract, but as a player you want to know where you will stay. I need stability. I need a club where I can stay for two or three years, to play and develop again.”

After spending the previous campaign on loan at Sevilla, Lokonga expressed his desire to settle in Spain, saying, “It’s a country that I could see myself living in after football. Already, before I came here, I was thinking about moving to Spain or Portugal. Now it just confirms my opinion that life here is amazing.”

Arsenal are widely expected to sell the midfielder, but there is currently little to no speculation regarding a move away. This will likely change when the transfer window approaches its end, but I would be extremely surprised if he stays beyond the summer.

Your thoughts welcome in the comments.

Benjamin Kenneth

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