Albert Sambi Lokonga (23)

[Arsenal Tone]

Maybe we get a more defensive player like Zakaria to support Sambi rather than a partner for Partey?

[Ach]

Last thing we need is more defensive players

[Arsenal Tone]

Last thing we need is more defensive players

Well you can't play an attacking midfielder next to Sambi.

[billie86]

Would a midfield of sambi and AMN be better? Partey just doesn't seem mobile enough to get around the pitch, or maybe even play Ainsley at the side of Partey

[Zenith]

[jayramfootball]

He's our best CM.
I was surprised to see him dropped for the Utd game after playing so well against Newcastle.
I suspect it was because he struggled against Liverpool on the really big occasion, but that will happen to young players. You have to keep putting them in there. The experience against Liverpool would have done him good - if he has the ability/talent to develop and learn.

I thin overall he will make it at the club and I would be looking for a DM partner for him - it's not Partey, AMD, Xhaka or Elneny.

[Power n Glory]

Would a midfield of sambi and AMN be better? Partey just doesn't seem mobile enough to get around the pitch, or maybe even play Ainsley at the side of Partey

AMN was voted Man of the Match for his Watford performance. He hasn’t started a game since. Odd.

[theHotHead]

Partey isn't a DM.

[jayramfootball]

Partey isn't a DM.

That's right - which is part of the issue.
Given he is not really contributing to our attacking play, it's difficult to see what value he has right now.

[theHotHead]

He is a box to box CM, he needs to support the attack and cover the defence. NOBODY in the team bar ESR is scoring goals, the problem is bigger than just one player, its the system that is the problem.

[Power n Glory]

He is a box to box CM, he needs to support the attack and cover the defence. NOBODY in the team bar ESR is scoring goals, the problem is bigger than just one player, its the system that is the problem.

We have a set of players that look like they'd be better suited for a more expansive and direct counter attacking game. (Auba, Martinelli, Pepe, Tierney, Partey, Xhaka, White). It's a mix of passers that can launch a direct long ball behind the defence and runners that can get on the end of the attack.

Then we have a bunch that seem more suited to the tika taka, possession heavy, short pass, give n go game. (Saka, ESR, Lacazette, Sambi, Elneny, Odegaard).

I just don't think we have the level of player to create the chances with the possession heavy style. It didn't work under Wenger and you can see how much money and quality Man City have to pull it off. In the group games of the Europa League you could see it work well and boxed teams in and carved them up for fun but as went further and for Prem games we never came close to that level of performance.

[Zenith]

breakingthelines.com

Data Analysis: Albert Sambi Lokonga

Top teams in the Premier League rarely purchase players from outside of Europe’s top five leagues. If they do, they tend to be young talents who go out on loan or develop in the academy system rather than players who move straight into the first-team squad.

Arsenal broke this trend when they signed Albert Sambi-Lokonga from R.S.C Anderlecht for £14.3 million this summer.

Initially, it seemed unlikely that Lokonga would receive significant minutes for the Gunners and that Mikel Arteta had acquired the Belgian as an understudy and long-term replacement for Thomas Partey.



The radar above shows how similar Lokonga and Partey are from a statistical perspective based on their performances during the 2020/21 season. Both are effective progressors of the ball through their passing and dribbling and both have significant contributions defensively, although Partey is more productive in this respect.

With Lokonga just turning twenty-two in October and jumping straight from the Belgian first division to the Premier League, it made sense to view him as an eventual heir to Partey rather than an immediate midfield partner for him.

However, Lokonga has already made thirteen appearances in the Premier League this season and cemented himself as one of the best midfield talents in the country. Playing in the double pivot alongside Partey, the Belgian has shone as a progressive midfielder through his physicality and ball-carrying.



The above scattergram shows the progressive carries (carries that move the ball ten yards or more closer to the opposition goal) and progressive carrying distance (total yards a player moved the ball towards the opposition goal through dribbling) of every under twenty-three player in the Premier League.

Progressive carries are useful in assessing the volume of a players’ dribbling, while the carrying distance reveals how far those carries move the ball up the pitch.

Only three players perform better than Lokonga for both metrics and just one of these players — Declan Rice — is a central midfielder. It’s not an exaggeration to say the Belgian is one of the best ball-carrying midfielders in the league within his age group.

For Arsenal, this caliber of ball-carrying is crucial to their success. Under Arteta, the Gunners have often excelled at dominating possession but have only recently developed into a truly lethal goal-scoring force.

Part of the reason for this is because they lacked the necessary midfielders to transition the team from careful, methodical build-up at the back to direct, incisive attacking play in the final third.

Lokonga’s dribbling enables Arsenal to redress this issue. His capacity to collect the ball from deep and drive forwards with it himself not only enables Arsenal to move the ball forward but also disjoints the opposition defensive structure as they attempt to retrieve possession from him. This, in turn, creates space in other areas of the pitch for the attackers to receive the ball.

Furthermore, Lokonga is an astute passer of the ball. He’s not quite as bold and risky with his passing as he is with his dribbling, with his 4.51 progressive passes only placing him in the 68th percentile among midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues.

He still makes an impressive 1.43 passes into the penalty area (81st percentile), but at present, Lokonga is best at facilitating possession through his passing rather than being a creative force. A particularly useful aspect of this for Arsenal is his ability to make passes while resisting opposition challenges.

His 9.67 passes under pressure (84th percentile) makes him a reliable distributor of the ball and also allows Arsenal to direct opposition pressure towards him, creating pockets of space elsewhere which they can exploit.

While Lokonga made frequent starts in the earlier part of the season off the back of these useful traits in possession, Granit Xhaka’s return from injury has relegated the former Anderlecht midfielder to the bench.



Comparing the two players, Xhaka and Lokonga are broadly similar but clearly offer different qualities to Arsenal’s midfield. Where Xhaka is a more adept progressive passer, Lokonga is a better ball-carrier. Neither are especially productive defensively, with Lokonga a better interceptor and Xhaka better in the air.

Given the similarities between Lokonga and Partey, Arteta may feel that the Swiss is a better complement to him in midfield. He also brings specific qualities to the team with his switch passes, ability to drop into the left-back or left-center back position in possession, and goal-threat from range.

Crucially, he also brings experience and leadership to an otherwise young Arsenal team. For the moment, it seems Lokonga may have to settle for a rotational role in midfield.

But while Xhaka may be Arsenal’s present, Lokonga is undoubtedly their future. As he develops his passing and defensive abilities, he will become a mainstay in the Gunners’ midfield.

For the first time in a long time, Arsenal appear to be an upwardly mobile club. Whatever success they achieve under Mikel Arteta, Albert Sambi-Lokonga will be crucial to it.

[jayramfootball]

^What I like most about Lakonga is his calmness on the ball and his ability to make good decisions. He seems to glide around the pitch. Reminds me, in that respect at least, of a French player from yesteryear... Tigana.
He's got far more to give over the coming season, but really impressed with him so far.
Needs to step up now , though, with Partey away for a month (up to)

[DiamondGooner]

He's not dominant enough on the ball, Xhaka needs an enforcer next to him otherwise Xhaka starts having to play that role then ........... here come the red cards and penalties.

If Lokonga can get his tackling and strength right he can hopefully be decent, we're going to beed him to step up now, important games coming up.

Might even have to play Chambers as a CDM.

[theHotHead]

Lokonga receives the ball on the half turn a lot, it means he is ready to burst forward, brilliant trait.