Mikel Arteta tells Arsenal ace Albert Sambi Lokonga to ‘prove’ himself

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has urged Albert Sambi Lokonga to prove himself after the Belgian revealed he considered leaving the Gunners at the end of last season.

The 23-year-old joined Arsenal from Anderlecht for £18 million last year (Goal). He became a regular early in the campaign and impressed everyone, but he barely started a Premier League game in the second half of the season.

Lokonga, unsurprisingly, wasn’t happy.

Mikel Arteta tells Arsenal ace Albert Sambi Lokonga to ‘prove’ himself

In an interview earlier this month, Lokonga revealed that he ‘almost snapped’ at the end of last season because he wasn’t playing regularly at Arsenal. (as quoted by 90min)

He then decided to stay and fight for his place in the side, but the young Belgian has started just twice in the Premier League all season.

Arteta was asked in his press conference yesterday what Lokonga has to do to become a regular at Arsenal following his comments about considering an exit. The Gunners boss told him to ‘speak on the pitch’.

He said, as quoted by Football London: “We will see more and he (Lokonga) needs to prove that what he’s asking for, he can produce on the pitch.

“And that’s the challenge for every single player, to raise the level and put the right competition in the team, and when you play, perform in a way that [means] we can win and play good enough to win the games.”

When asked what he has to do to keep fringe players like Lokonga happy, Arteta said: “Play them and then speak on the pitch, that’s the best way.”

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Lokonga is a really talented player and he has the potential to become a top midfielder in the coming years. However, there’s no way he’s getting ahead of either Thomas Partey or Granit Xhaka in the middle of the park.

Arteta’s two first-choice central midfielders have both been sensational so far this season. They are one of the biggest reasons why the Gunners are on top of the Premier League table, and both players will remain regular starters until the end of the campaign.

Lokonga, however, is a regular in the Europa League. He has started every game in the competition so far, and he’s expected to get the nod again this evening when Arsenal take on PSV Eindhoven.

Arteta wants the Belgian to prove himself, and a good performance today against a tough side in a difficult away ground could convince the Arsenal boss to give him more minutes in the Premier League.