Things are finally starting to happen in Arsenal’s transfer dealings, with Nuno Tavares officially announced yesterday, and today we have found out that Albert Sambi Lokonga has now arrived in London after passing the preliminary fitness tests in Belgium.
Les Sports have announced his arrival late last night, but warns fans that he won’t be able to join up with Arsenal until he has finished his Covid protocols..
They reported….
We come to the end of the summer series. On Saturday morning, Albert Sambi Lokonga (21) arrived in London. He must pass the rest and the end of the medical tests started the day before. A formality, in theory. He will then be able to officially sign for five seasons at Arsenal.
He was unable to join his teammates directly in Edinburgh where they are starting a one-week training course (with two friendlies). Passing through the England box where the health situation is worrying, he must respect a quarantine of ten days before being able to train collectively with the Gunners. If all goes well, it is during a second internship, in the United States, that Sambi Lokonga will discover his new partners. With a preparatory meeting against Romelu Lukaku’s Inter scheduled for July 25.
Obviously we will have to wait for Arsenal’s official announcement, but I think we can all be reassured that this second signing is as good as done.
Who will be our third signing?
Admin Pat
The third signing would most likely be Ben White, then maybe we’ll hear something about Nketiah or Lacazette. After that, I predict Arsenal will surprise us with a new player that’s not mentioned in any news today
Agreed, gai. The Maddison rumours aren’t going away – we couldn’t, could we?
As for Lokonga, I’m excited about this guy… recommended by Henry, that’s good enough for me!
Yes Sue, I don’t think Arsenal will be willing to spend 60+ M for Maddison after spending 50+ M for White
About Lokonga, I think he’s a box-to-box midfielder like Partey. If that’s the case, we might get a new specialist DM to protect our CBs
@Gai
If video is reliable enough he was quite impressive. But he will need to visit the gym to build some muscles he is easily brought down when playing and we all know EPL is a very physical league. But Gai,do you think Arsenal’s interest in White is real? I read other clubs are interested in him. We still need an A M that S Row can deputise for.
According to Transfermarkt, Lokonga is 6 feet tall. So at least he’ll be decent aerially
About White, Ornstein, Romano and Transfer Checker have said that he’s joining Arsenal. So I believe we almost reach an agreement with Brighton
As for a new CAM, I think Arteta’s final formation will be 4-3-3 without a no 10 in it. So it’ll make more sense if we’re looking for a right mezzala like David Silva, Bernardo Silva and Odegaard
I assume fairy godmother bestowed upon kse a jar full of gold that will fund the White transfer. Are we all forgetting that Arsenal can’t buy unless they sell?
The third signing will be possible only once another player is sold under his real value, because that is now the Arsenal way.
I guess White’s deal will be in installments like Pepe’s, hence the overpricing
Nest week will be crucial in who we are buying so that hopefully the boys can join in pre season.
Let the third signing be Renato Sanchez… I so much love his playing method… Very strong guy… He will be OK i think
I 2nd that🙏🙏🙏
Can’t believe arsenal sold Martinez for just 20m. For a club that’s tight on finances, they keep giving away players for discounts.
I’m so happy for Martinez, after spending ten years on the bench for Arsenal and now finally things are going his way. Leading Argentina to an international cup in 28 years.
You are right.
For sure
Christ Jesus,you lots still blabbing on about this sale?? Get a life mate,your too childish for my liking.
Dude wanted to leave cos he could not wait and fight it out with Leno and he was granted his wish,end of story and please don’t you ever mention anything about this no more cos it’s getting irritating to read this days!
@ceemahn
You have the option to ignore the message instead of making a more irritating comment
He also has a perfect right to comment on anything he pleases. Do you not believe in the rightof ALL to free speech then, as your post indicates?
You started with the Lord’s name and ended with casting aspersions on another. Isn’t that irritating ? We are all not happy about the sale of Martinez and we will not stop talking about it. Block your ears and throw a blind eye if you can.
Ceemahn, exactly my point. This lots are becoming increasingly pathetic and aggravating, I for once will never blame those responsible for his sale because of Leno, Leno have been doing well for us before his injury that brought Martinez to the limelight, how could any rational and sensible thinker asked that we religate Leno for Martinez then.
When did I say I disagree with his sale? I am talking about the price, so please read better.
Their English are poor. Forgive them.
My exact same feelings regarding this Martinez deals and I even feel more pained each time I watch make some very spectacular saves for Villa plus the fact that right now he’s the Argentine #1 goalie, the only consolation is that Villa finished below Arsenal on the league table. It was a bad decision….
What on Earth does this comment have to do with Lokonga? Get a life…
PAT, IS THIS SITE NOW SO DRACONIAN THAT WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DISCUSS ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE ARTICLE IN QUESTION?
I say this even as someone who is generally, but not always, keen to see the subject raised discussed in depth. But you will surely admit- even if only privately to yourself- that the actual subject raised needs to be of PROPER interest OR ELSE fans are bound to write about whatever they please?
Do please answer this question PAT one way or the other, as many will wish to know your real view , having first considered this post of mine.
Yes Jon, if you seriously don’t think the arrival of our second signing is important then I am flabberghasted, BUT the problem I have is this is the SECOND post today that someone has jumped in with a Martinez interruption.
There are three comments on Lokonga or our possible third signing, then we get “Can’t believe arsenal sold Martinez for just 20m. For a club that’s tight on finances, they keep giving away players for discounts.”
What the hell that that got to do with the price of fish! exactly A YEAR after we sold him
There was a Martinez post yesterday, they should have got it off their chests by now, no?
Ad PAT, this is not about what I think as that is not relevant to this matter.
It is about whether or not you believe in free speech or NOT.
Yes, I CAN AGREE THAT HAVING WRITTEN AN ARTICLE IT MAY BE FRUSTRATING THAT SOME FANS THEN CHOOSE TO SPEAK ABOUT OTHER MATTERS BUT THIS IS CALLED FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
Neither you, nor I ,nor anyone else has any moral right to prevent anyone saying what they wish about any matter . Unless you decree that your draconian view Pat, on free speech is the only view allowed.
You have the power as Admin to enforce this. But you have NO moral right to do so. So its up to you and how restrictive or alternatively how freeing you wish to be Pat.
You know I support free speech and I love diversity. But I believe in talking about the topic in hand. You have 20 a day! Isn’t that enough?
But also Jon, reading 500 comments a day, I am sensitive to trolls hijacking sensible conversations.
It’s a fine line I know and are usually split second decisions, but as you know, The Buck Stops Here!
At the time Martinez was sold was not in the capacity to replace Leno, there was no choice but to sale him, and if so we can not keep all players, some go away and florish and also some fail. It’s all about life, career and moving on.
Martinez is gone a year now,so lets move on. get another goalie if needs be. no need crying over spilt milk. Hope Lokonga can settle quickly and give some decent performance when called upon.
Arguably,Arsenal are huge club! So it’s very important for us to recruit more exciting and experienced players such as Madison and Locatelli.
We are all so tired of emi Martinez comments. We know by now. Been close to a year 🙄.
👍👍
Would have love for EM to have stayed but he has been gone a season so we do need to move on
Question we have ask is. Who finished up with the better defence record between us and villa for last season
Can we now talk about the new players coming in
Ps
Did anyone see the 66 world cup final in colour last night
Bally was immense 😄
Our next signing should be a box to box midfielder in either, Camaving, R. Sanches, R. Neves or Locateli, then a creative midfielder and lastly Ben White can follow.
Renato Sanches and Martin Odegaard would be the best recruitment.
spot on @ceemahn. matinez was sold more than 1 year ago.. Its so irritating bringing the issue up again. We are talking about Lokonga, our new man!
The new man is not exciting enough. He is likely not a starting eleven material, or at least not yet.. Anyway, there is nothing much to discuss about Lokonga, except saying yay or meh.. If the article introduces us more on him, his stats, his potentials, how he compare to our other midfielders, then probably we have more things to discuss about him.
And judging by the number of comments on Emi, his case is more exciting, and probably more relevant now that he won a major trophy as the main goalkeeper. Last year, it was difficult to judge if we sold him cheap for 20M. After all, he was our no 2. And Im happy for him. A true arsenal man. Maybe one day he will be back, for 50M or more, just maybe..
I agree with you. Martinez should come back at all costs. Selling him was the worst mistake arsenal ever made. He gave us the FA cup, we all know that. Leno is no match to him.
Signing lokonga and tabarez is good but the club has not shown seriousness. Our main problem last season have not been addressed. We found it difficult to create chances and score goals. A serious club would have identify a single player to help out and go for him first. Though we might still buy, but that should have been our main priority.
Now that we have gotten replacement for Xhaka, backup for Tierney, and replacement for cebalos; willock, we need replacement for Luiz to follow, then replacements for Odegaard, and Bryan, while bellerin, William, toreirra, MNL, and Kolacinac can leave without replacements because we already have them.
I agree with you but we need to keep William but others can go including Willian. However we need a new goal keeper.
Tears in my eyes when ever I see classy Emi
Banned
You can’t talk about Aston villa players here
We have world class Leno
One love my Gunners Fan’s. Let’s move our club forward
Martinez will return soon enough when his contract ends……we miss him.
We some one else for a new challenge in the likes of Dean Henderson or Onana Andre or even Pickford
Lokonga is a good signing!If White could be a done deal as well as Aour, I’am very sure that Arsenal fc will shine again.
It is encouraging how the transfer business has been conducted so far. Hopefully all our transfer targets will be wrapped up by the end of next week so they can have month to gel with the rest of the squad.
The floodgates have opened…
In as much as it pains me for letting Emi Martínez go, it did has been done, so that is history.
No amount of crying and frustration will bring him back to our club.
Now, sensible people will try to move on, concentrate on the team, the current players we have, and how we will move forward as a club.
Finishing 4 or 5th should be the target this new season.
Now, Lokonga has arrived London. We should be evaluating what he brings to our team, his qualities, the role he should play.
I see him as a central midfielder with hidden talents. If coached well, he can turn out to be like a Paul Pogba.
I would like to see him partner with Partey at the base of the midfield. Maybe he can even turn out to be like Bissouma some of us are crying out for.
Hopefully, the lad gives us the best years of his career.
There was no mention of Willock in the Keep, sell or loan column. Sell him immediately and take advantage his freak goalscoring at Newcastle. We could get £25m for this overrated , headless chicken.
How I love it when our fans support our players.
As for the signing, if it comes to fruition, yet another feather in NA/Edu’s cap.
Now for this exceptional deal that we were told was going to happen…. our squad looks better every day.
OT – Sue have you been given the opportunity to watch our friendlies for free, as you are on the waiting list?
I have just actioned my s/t to do this….. yet another example of the club trying to gel with the fans.
Hi Ken.. yes, as I’m red and have renewed. Just waiting for the email with the voucher code!!
Hi Sue.
Email containing code should have arrived pretty much immediately after renewing red.
Both mine and my wife’s arrived simultaneously directly after payment of our renewals.
Cheers AJ… I didn’t check my emails at the time, only checked my Arsenal account. Have now looked and found it – Redeemed! 🙂 Thank you!
Roll on Tuesday!
Sue 👍👍👍
Maybe next year, in an unrelated article, we will start discussing how we sold willock for cheap 😂😂
Wow, am so so excited with mikel and edu this window, pls get ur houssem, renato, white and isak or arnautovic then conv
How I wish the fourth signings would be Martin Odegaard and the fifth to be Onana Andre or Dean Henderson after Ben Whites
Renato Sanches and Martin Odegaard would be the best recruitment.
Welcome to Emirates stadium, Lokonga. Your arrival means a lot to the club. As for Willock, I want the club to use him in his normal position so that we can know how he performs. He was a good midfielder at NEWFC while on loan, so let him be given an opportunity here for 4/5 matches before we decide what to do with him. Our next signing should be Locatelli or Bissouma pls and then follow by Ben White. Thank you all for your contributions. UP GUNNERS FOR LIFE!!!!?
I can’t form an opinion about Lakonga, I’ve never seen him play.
Paying a reported £50m for White, a CB, seems a bit risky unless we see qualities that no other top EPL teams have seen. If he’s that good why aren’t Chelsea or Man City in the running considering their buying power and what they can offer the player? It will be great if he turns out to be another VVD!!!
In my opinion,Arsenal are in dire need of two creative and pacey players!Last season we were not creative enough to produce scoring opportunities.I therefore posit that should we secure Maddiso and Locatelli,as well as someone like Isco from Real Madrid,we’d have done some great transfer businesses .
Arguably,Arsenal are huge club! So it’s very important for us to recruit more exciting and experienced players such as Madison and Locatelli.
If Edu can get Maddison,RB and CF then i expect arsenal to compete for the title.
Who will be the next new player that Arsenal are likely going to sign after they’ve closed the deal for their signing Lokonga? Ben White should be the next in-line who I think Arsenal will sign. But if Brighton will not play hard ball with Arsenal to bring-in go slow into the final discussion in White transfer deal to Arsenal.
But should Arsenal still go ahead to sign Onana this summer after they’ve recently announced that they have promoted Okowonko to the first team squad as the 3rd goalkepeer behind Runarsson in 2nd and Leno undisputed in1st position in the squad? I think the club should go ahead to sign the reported top quality goalkepeer Onana this summer. But if the transfer deal negotiations to bring him to Arsenal is right and correct for Arsenal, Onana and his selling club. And after signing him, I think one of Runarsson or Okowonko should be loaned out in January.
Lokonga wS brought for his passing, apart from that dude falls after 3 touches
Are you suggesting we ought not to have bought Lokonga who is held in high regard by Vincent Kompany, Henri and Martinez, three guys with a wealth of success and experience in professional football.?
OT.. Well the tennis didn’t disappoint, fantastic game. Now the football… Come on!! 🏴
HAppy for the signing.
Pray we sign more.
Its coming Rome
Hope saka doesn’t takle that too bad.
And thats why he does not take penalties for us.
Rather we fins out at England’s coat than Arsenals
OT.. Poor penalties…. poor Saka 🥺
Rashford and Sancho should’ve stayed on the bench!!
Poor Saka the boy is distraught I’m worried about the abuse he is going to get.
I’m gutted for him, Siamois…
So am i!hope it won’t affect him too much!
Yes, it’s very worrying.. poor sod will have to delete his social media accounts. No doubt the media will focus on him even though he wasn’t the only one to miss. At least he went for it though and didn’t sod about like Rashford and Sancho. Donnarumma was always going to save at least one – the man’s a giant!
My heart goes out to Saka 😭❤
I just knew as we approached penalties that it would be our Bukayo that would be last up and miss, just had a feeling.
Hope he is okay soon as his joyous smiling personality is what makes him play so freely.
Poor Saka. There were other players that should’ve stepped up instead of a 19 year old. C’mon now. It takes guts to step up in that scenario. We love you Bukayo ❤
What was Southgate thinking giving Saka such huge responsibilities
I was thinking the same so unfair that’s when you need experience i thought Southgate choice if penalties takers was poor.
do we know if southgate had an order after the first 5? maybe not. surely Grealish has to be stepping up in that situation over Saka?
oh wait, saka was on 5, THAT MAKES NO SENSE???
Surely he has to cover every scenario possible no?
yeah you’re right. espsecially since he put rashford and sancho on just to take pks i guess this was the order. If that is the case that’s on Southgate. Sterling, Grealish got away with not taking PK’s and thats not right.
I agree i was surprised not to see Sterling Grealish…taking penalties!i know it is of little consolation but England reached the final that’s progress!
Tbh – reminded me of watching an Arteta game, begging to bring on Saka and Grealish in second half. No subs, backs against the wall until they scored. If we’d made subs starting second half, different result
Saka missing a penalty shoot outs kick for England in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley tonight is a bad marketing by him for Arsenal I will say. What I think is left for him now after his penalty miss for England tonight is for him to rediscovered himself to come good for club and country when it matters most. And forget all about he is being over hyped in the media. Which I believe has gotten into his head making him think he has arrived there before he actually has arrived there.
this is nonsense. all of his teammates have said this tournament hes a nice down to earth guy. suddenly he has an ego based on what exactly? Let’s not do this please 🙄
Oh come on, he should never have had the whole country’s responsibility on his shoulders!
All I can say is fair play for getting up there and taking it. Where were Sterling, Grealish or any of the others?
He’d never taken one before, his first tournament… he’s done us proud.
❤ Bukayo
Hindsight is always 20/20, but putting 3 youngsters to take the pk’s was asking for it.
All that attacking flair, and GS played it Arteta safe, and well, we all know what happened.
he played it safe all the way to a PK shootout in a european final… then he decides to take crazy risks 😂
Poor managerial decision making … beginning with essentially 8 defensive minded players for a cup final at home … if I include mount … who has been poor all tournament but SouthGate kept playing him … the choice of penalty takers was shocking … has saka even taken one for us ? Can’t remember .. the kids still a teenager … game was lost in second half when it was clearly running away from us and SouthGate was clueless as to what to do … very poor stuff
Absolutely right – have been in the same situation time and time again with Arteta where we need to step it up and make subs, but we try and defend a slender lead. Fans would’ve been slating Arteta in a similar situation. We had a strong bench yet gave them the advantage in the second half, if we’d have made the subs in the second half taken off Trippier, Mount and Rice, replaced them with Henderson, Grealish and Saka, we would’ve won. We had the better team all day long, they had the better manager. We were lucky against the Danes and Southgate didn’t learn.
But to think of it, why is it that football is refusing ti come home again despite all the untiring ceaseless efforts by England that they have made to make it come home to have another holiday since it last came hone for a deserving holiday res in 1966 before it resumed it’s journimg around the world again where England has sent it to be going around to give out the game..
English Pogba needed
Arsenal seem to be facing some competition and uncertainty with Aouar. I hope the third signing is Marcel Sabitzer.
Southgate had been very defensive in all Euro
Playing 6-7 defensive minded players every game…
Such a negative tactics
When you have players like Jack Grealish, Saka, Rashford, Sancho, Mount, Foden, Sterling then how can you play with such defensive tactics…
You have one most pacy wingers… Lethal finisher in form of Kane then how on earth he started with 7 defensive minded players at times.
English squad was one of the best in Tournament…
Such a shame
Overrated Manager who knows his limitations and that’s what opted for safe defensive tactics..
I am new in this room, am I welcome? The Great Gunner
All GOONERS are welcome!
Look forward guys, lets have confodence in our lads n cheer them up , we r back and Arsenal will roar again at the Emirates and tsste glory again …..cmon Gunners go for the kill….
Arteta will enjoy working with him. He might be a back up to Partey for time being. Good luck Lokonga, we’re all excited about your future, and we’re sure you’re gonna put in the hard work.