Albert Sambi Lokonga (23)

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Albert Sambi Lokonga (23)

Postby Arsenal Tone » Wed Jun 02, 2021 9:28 pm

Nationality: Belgian
Date of birth: 22/10/99 (age 21)
Preferred position(s): CM/DM
Height: 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Parent club: Anderlecht

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football ... nderlecht/
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Re: Albert Sambi Lokonga

Postby Ach » Wed Jun 02, 2021 9:36 pm

Beat me to it

Hope we don't sign him now

Arsenal are considering a summer swoop for Anderlecht midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga - according to Nieuwsblad.

The Gunners are looking at the 21-year-old as an alternative to Brighton's Yves Bissouma, who would cost them around £40 million ($57m)).

Lokonga could be available for as little as £13 million ($18m), with Anderlecht open to selling a prized asset before he becomes a free agent in 2022.
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Re: Albert Sambi Lokonga

Postby Arsenal Tone » Wed Jun 02, 2021 9:42 pm

Get bissouma and sign this guy as third choice
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Re: Albert Sambi Lokonga

Postby Jase89 » Thu Jun 03, 2021 2:24 am

Ffs always the bridesmaid never the bride
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Re: Albert Sambi Lokonga

Postby Zenith » Thu Jun 10, 2021 9:22 am

medium.com

In the process, we trust: Belgium football expert on Albert Lokonga, Data Visualisations: Albert Lokonga

Albert Sambi Lokonga has been extensively linked with Arsenal in recent weeks with the Gunners reportedly interested in signing the 21-year-old to strengthen their midfield.

I requested Doc, who has been following Belgium football for a long time and is currently working as a Data Analyst for the Belgium Pro League side KV Kortrijk, to share his opinion on Lokonga and he was generous enough to oblige to my request.

Below is the full excerpt from the interview:

Q: A bit on the background of Albert Sambi Lokonga, Doc?

A: Sambi Lokonga was born in Belgium and is of Congolese descent, and his brother Paul-José M’Poku is also a professional footballer. He played for Standard Liège. Lokonga has the surname of the mother, Mpoku that of the father.


Q: How would you describe his playing style and strengths?

A: He is a good ball progressor. He has the ability to pass several oponents before playing the ball deep in the opposition 3rd. Very much able to recover balls deep in own half and deliver them high up the pitch. He has been the main ‘number 6 + number 8’ for Anderlecht. He is an interesting combination of both.

His strong points are passing, vision, tactical intelligence, technique, he also has good ball retention under pressure.


Q: And his weaknesses?

A: He can struggle against high intensity press. He sometimes gives the impression of a 6 who is just isn’t defending hard enough or an 8 who lingers a little too long on the ball to become a real Box-to-box.

At times his decision making has shown to be quite rash. Also he needs to keep his temper in control — flashes of the fiery youth is good, too much would be bad. His issues are not big enough & experience would correct them.


Q: Captain of the club at the age of 21, that’s not seen too often, how did that come about?

A: He has a very mature head on young shoulders. His football intelligence is an important factor for him getting captaincy at such young age.


Q: Can you find any resemblance between him and any other Premier League player?

A In some ways, he is very similar to Sander Berge but with better passing abilities. Berge has better ball retention under pressure though. For me Lokonga’s ability as ball progressor is his best trait. Not a lot of players can progress the ball via both passes and carries equally well.


Q: Lastly, do you see him being a success at Arsenal and in the Premier League and can he be trusted to start right away at this level?

A: For me, he should not be considered a starter at EPL immediately. He will need time to adjust to the intensity of the league. But if we give him time, I trust him to do well in longer term.


Albert Sambi Lokonga Visualized

One reason why I feel Albert Lokonga can be a credible replacement for Granit Xhaka, in the long run, is because of the similarity of their games when it comes to their positioning. Albert Lokonga drops deep efficiently to receive possession from the defense and while he does drive forward with it, he doesn’t over-commit himself as showcased by his lack of touches in the final third. That means he keeps himself in a decent position to resist any counter-attacks from the opposition which his side is higher up the pitch.

Image

His passing is nothing expansive and predominantly simple. He likes to play short passes as a medium to dodge immediate pressure and then carry forward after receiving possession back. He combines efficiently with players around him as shown by his top three passing clusters. In the red cluster, he is combining more with the other midfielder/pivot, while in the blue he is playing passes to his full-back.

The third cluster is more representative of his inexpensive passing as he seems to be looking for sideways options when he gets into more advanced positions.

Image

While he is not known for his defensive abilities, however, it’s interesting to see that most of his defensive actions are made just in front of the defense. He’s also making considerable defensive actions much higher up the pitch, a unique skill set managers are increasingly looking for in a midfielder.

Image

As mentioned earlier in the interview, Lokonga is known for his progressive game. On the right, starting locations of all his progressive carries are given. Quite a few of his progressive carries are originated deep in his own half, which is a fitting display of his productive carrying ability. As shown by the map on the left he makes a lot of progressive passes, however, most of them are feeding on the wings rather than making central penetration.

Image


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Re: Albert Sambi Lokonga

Postby Paddy » Thu Jun 10, 2021 12:11 pm

no idea who he is but get him in
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Re: Albert Sambi Lokonga

Postby Yago » Thu Jun 10, 2021 12:43 pm

Nowhere near good enough imo. Might be a decent player for West Ham or Aston Villa in a couple of years.
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Re: Albert Sambi Lokonga

Postby swipe right » Thu Jun 10, 2021 1:34 pm

He’s being talked up by Henry.
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Re: Albert Sambi Lokonga

Postby Arsenal Tone » Thu Jun 10, 2021 4:37 pm

We need a back up CM or two if ceballos, xhaka and elneny are all off.

Hopefully it'll be partey and bissouma with neves as third choice and this guy as fourth choice.
Last edited by Arsenal Tone on Fri Jun 11, 2021 4:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Albert Sambi Lokonga

Postby swipe right » Fri Jun 11, 2021 12:10 am

Tony Adams wrote:We need a back up CM or two if ceballos, xhaka and elneny are all off.

Hopefully it'll be elneny and bissouma with neves as third choice and this guy as fourth choice.

He’s already levels above El Neny and Neves
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Re: Albert Sambi Lokonga

Postby Yago » Fri Jun 11, 2021 12:38 am

swipe right wrote:
Tony Adams wrote:We need a back up CM or two if ceballos, xhaka and elneny are all off.

Hopefully it'll be elneny and bissouma with neves as third choice and this guy as fourth choice.

He’s already levels above El Neny and Neves


Lmao, no he's not. He's the less talented part of a midfield partnership in a struggling Anderlecht side.
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Re: Albert Sambi Lokonga

Postby DiamondGooner » Fri Jun 11, 2021 12:47 am

Yago wrote:Nowhere near good enough imo. Might be a decent player for West Ham or Aston Villa in a couple of years.


Guys talking like Aston Villa don't have a better midfield than us? :doh:

Not only do they have better midfielders but they just robbed us of the player we wanted.

Villa have Buendia, Jack Grealish and Ross Barkley.

This is more of the same deluded fanboy talk.

Until we make top 6 again I think its best we stop this "big boy" talk because otherwise its just embarrassing.
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Re: Albert Sambi Lokonga

Postby Yago » Fri Jun 11, 2021 1:00 am

DiamondGooner wrote:
Yago wrote:Nowhere near good enough imo. Might be a decent player for West Ham or Aston Villa in a couple of years.


Guys talking like Aston Villa don't have a better midfield than us? :doh:

Not only do they have better midfielders but they just robbed us of the player we wanted.

Villa have Buendia, Jack Grealish and Ross Barkley.

This is more of the same deluded fanboy talk.

Until we make top 6 again I think its best we stop this "big boy" talk because otherwise its just embarrassing.


I'm hoping for signings to take us where we need to be, not for those keeping us stable around 8th place. Villa will probably sell Grealish to City, Buendia is decent but not some world-class players and Barkley is just ok.
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Re: Albert Sambi Lokonga

Postby Arsenal Tone » Fri Jun 11, 2021 4:06 am

Tony Adams wrote:We need a back up CM or two if ceballos, xhaka and elneny are all off.

Hopefully it'll be elneny and bissouma with neves as third choice and this guy as fourth choice.
Meant partey, not elneny :doh:
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Re: Albert Sambi Lokonga

Postby Paddy » Fri Jun 11, 2021 8:44 am

lets be honest if theyre good enough for villa theyre good enough for us.

its not the 90s anymore. all the teams in the premier league now attract good players because of the money floating around.
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