One Arsenal player missed his chance to impress the coaches and fans in the game against Oxford United last night as he struggles for regular game time.
Mikel Arteta has favoured other players at the club and found the Oxford game the perfect match to give a chance to Albert Sambi Lokonga.
The Belgian has not been good enough for Arteta’s side for some time now and that game offered him an opportunity to shut the mouths of his critics.
However, the ex-Anderlecht teenager did not impress and has been called out by former Arsenal forward Kevin Campbell.
“They’re trying. But if you get an opportunity against Oxford, you’ve got to take it. Kieran Tierney did alright. But Lokonga, he wants to stake a claim. He looked way off it, he did. He didn’t look good enough tonight,” he told Highbury Squad.
“For the manager to trust you, to put you in, you’ve got to start taking these opportunities. So if anyone happens in the first-team, Sambi’s ready. Sambi’s not ready.
“To affect the game, he had to take Sambi off.”
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Sambi Lokonga will rue this missed chance because he might not have another one to start a game, considering this is an important stage of the campaign and opportunities will be few.
Hopefully, when he next plays, he will make up for the lost time, but it is hard to see that happening anytime soon.