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Lokonga Looking to be in Good Kompany

When Albert Sambi Lokonga joined Arsenal two seasons ago, he was tipped for big things, and was lauded by the manager he was departing, Vincent Kompany, of Anderlecht. It’s fair to say that Lokonga’s stint in the first team wasn’t as we hoped, as he looked like a player that wasn’t ready for the big time at the Emirates.

In a season where Granit Xhaka was riddled with suspension and bouts with COVID, as well as Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny departing the club for international duty in the African Cup of Nations, Lokonga didn’t do enough to cement his place in the team, and quickly found himself further down the pecking order when the big guns returned.

Last season wasn’t any better for Lokonga, with the Belgian starlet making only 196 minutes of Premier League playing time for Arsenal, before departing to Crystal Palace on loan when Arsenal signed Jorginho from Chelsea on the January transfer deadline day. He was a first team regular for Patrick Vieira but the Eagles struggled for form and the ex-Gunner received his marching orders. When wily ol’ Woy Hodgson returned to his beloved club that was in dire need of drastic changes to save their Premier League status, Lokonga was relegated to the bench as Hodgson worked with the more experienced heads and guaranteed safety for Crystal Palace.

It was evident that Crystal Palace wasn’t going to retain the services of Lokonga, and with him already behind Xhaka, Partey, Elneny and Jorginho, Arsenal’s acquisitions of Kai Havertz and the imminent arrival of Declan Rice confirms that Lokonga isn’t in Mikel Arteta’s plans for the new campaign.

In a recent interview, Lokonga has confirmed that he’s in need of first-term football opportunities,

“I don’t know, I will try to go somewhere I will play”

“That’s the most important thing, to have some games and play game after game.”

At this point, the best thing that can happen to Lokonga is to move to a team that will guarantee him first-team football, as well as a potential permanent move away from Arsenal, and he might get his wish, as the midfielder is linked with a loan move to Burnley, which will give him an opportunity to reunite with his former gaffer, Kompany.

This will be a fantastic move for the player and the club and we can only hope it comes to fruition in the coming days.

Lokonga will indeed be in good Kompany.

Sayonara.

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Posted in Arsenal, Football, Premier League, Transfer Gossip

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Tags: Albert Sambi Lokonga, Arsenal, Burnley, Football, Premier League, Transfer Gossip, Vincent Kompany

Burnley 0-0 Arsenal: Wasteful Gunners Drop Points Again

Feb 3

Posted by enigma106

Aubameyang wasted clear cut chances (via Arsenal.com)

Match Report Match Highlights Post-Match Press Conference

Final Result: Burnley 0-0 Arsenal

Arsenal XI (subs) (4-2-3-1): Leno; Bellerin, Mustafi, D. Luiz, Saka (Torreira); Xhaka, Guendouzi; Aubameyang, Ozil (Willock), Martinelli; Lacazette (Nketiah)

A whole lot has changed since Mikel Arteta took over at the club but the results haven’t been convincing with Arsenal dropping points from good positions. Arsenal has become more compact under the new gaffer, but the club has struggled in the attacking department with the favored center forward, Alexandre Lacazette, still struggling to find the back of the net. When you consider the fact that the team’s top goal scorer, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, shunted to the left flank to accommodate the misfiring French forward, it becomes tiring.

The only time Lacazette was at the danger area was early in the game when he received a lofted ball from Aubameyang but he planted his header wide off the mark. He offered nothing for the entirety of the game before he was replaced by Eddie Nketiah. Seeing Lacazette struggle like this on a consistent basis is painful to watch but Aubameyang was very profligate has he had two cleat cut chances as well as a header that was guided wide,

Arsenal can also thank their lucky stars for Burnley’s Jay Rodriguez shot that hit the underside of the bar but didn’t pass the goal line. At least, the referee had his watch to show him that. This was Arsenal’s 13th draw this season, and the club is still languishing in mid-table after sharing the spoils with Burnley at Turf Moor.

Should the fans expect any better? Maybe. The season has been shambolic but with Arteta at the helm, the performances of certain players have drastically improved. Take a certain Skhodran Mustafi for instance, that has been a horror show in most of his games. The German defender had an awesome outing against Burnley, making clearances, interceptions and blocks with helped his team keep a rare clean sheet. He earned a 9.0 rating in the player rating post published yesterday.

Granit Xhaka’s versatility came into the fore with Bukayo Saka subsitituted at half time due to injury. Arteta confirmed that he had a knee and hip injury, which is a shame bearing in mind that he has been very impressive deputizing in that position. Hopefully, he will get back to full fitness during this two week break in Dubai.

Arsenal’s game against Newcastle comes up in two weeks time, so we will expect the players to be in great spirits ahead of what will be a crunch encounter at the Emirates.

Sayonara.

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Posted in Arsenal, Football, Match Report, Premier League

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Tags: Arsenal, Burnley, Football, Premier League

Burnley 0-0 Arsenal: Player Ratings

Feb 2

Posted by enigma106

via Arsenal.com

Burnley hosted Arsenal in Turf Moor bearing in mind that they had lost their last 10 encounters with the Gunners. It was also a good game for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to return to action following his exemplary scoring record against Burnley. The official website has published the match report for your viewing pleasure.

Without further ado, here are the Gooner Daily player ratings for the Burnley vs. Arsenal game.

Starting XI

Bernd Leno: The German shot stopper wasn’t troubled for most of the game but he made one superb save from a Dwight McNeil shot. He will have his cross bar to thank for Jay Rodriguez’s goal-bound effort though. (7)

Skhodran Mustafi: Following his injury in the Bournemouth game, we feared that Mustafi was out for a lengthy period and it was surprising seeing him in the starting XI ahead of Sokratis Papathatoupoulos. The German defense justified his inclusion with a virtuoso performance. (9)

David Luiz: Another tidy performance from the Brazilian center back. He was concussed for his troubles with a double whammy from Nick Pope. (7)

Hector Bellerin: The Arsenal vice-captain is working his way to full fitness and put up another good shift n the right back position. He almost had a deja vu moment where he used his left to fire a shot but it went wide. I look forward to his fight with new signing, Cedric Soares, for a starting berth. (7)

Bukayo Saka: He showed some brilliant attacking play but he was thwarted by an injury that saw him play only for 45 minutes. (7)

Granit Xhaka: Another decent outing for the Swiss army knife, as he deputized as a left back following Saka’s injury. He has become a utility man under Mikel Arteta and we love. (7)

Matteo Guendouzi: He struggled to dictate the tempo of the game and looked overwhelmed. (6)

Mesut Ozil: Another ineffectual performance from the German schemer that got him replaced by a youngster. (5)

Gabriel Martinelli: Played out of position and couldn’t influence play from the right flank. Switched to the left and didn’t have much success either. (6)

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: Was rusty for missing three games out as he had the best chances to kill the contest. Sadly, he fluffed all of them. (6)

Alexandre Lacazette: Another game, another drought in front of goal. His away goalscoring form is really terrible with his last EPL goal on the road as far back as February 2019. I think it’s high time he spends some time on the bench. (5)