Arsenal: 4 reasons Sambi keeps his place over Maitland-Niles

Mikel Arteta went for a team against Liverpool that there could have been few complaints about pre-kick off. Arsenal were on an unbeaten run of ten matches in all competitions and while there were changes throughout that spell, the Anfield side was deemed, at the time, as the strongest available.

Whether one wants to pin the result on those selections or not, it didn’t work. Pretty much nothing was going to work away at the toughest away ground, arguably in Europe.

In order for this current Arsenal to have gone to Merseyside and beaten this current Liverpool there would have had to be magnificent performances from back to front, as well as some unfavourable ones from the team on home soil.

Inexperience came to the fore against a side who’ve been playing with each other for six or so years, winning Premier League titles and tasting Champions League glory. It was a mismatch however the game was approached.

4 reasons Albert Sambi Lokonga should keep his place in the Arsenal midfield next to Thomas Partey over Ainsley Maitland-Niles

As a result that is best left brushed under the carpet – after some careful consideration in regards to post-match analysis, of course – the focus rightly turns directly towards facing Newcastle on home soil in the Premier League.

Who should be part of that team will be interesting. Alexandre Lacazette has helped solve an issue in this team since his reintroduction, but the time now feels right to bring Martin Odegaard back into the fold as the long-term solution.

Similarly, Nuno Tavares could be taking out of the limelight with Kieran Tierney coming back in at left-back. But what about Albert Sambi Lokonga? A second half performance he will not look back on fondly has seen calls for Ainsley Maitland-Niles to be be brought into midfield to partner Thomas Partey.

Is that a knee-jerk response? Absolutely it is.

As encouraging as Maitland-Niles’ displays have been on the chances he’s been given this season, there is no reason to take Sambi out of the team on the back of Anfield. Here are four reasons why the Belgian should keep his place.

1. Liverpool Was All Part of Sambi’s Development

Understandably, a lot of focus has been put on the horror eight minutes the Belgian went through straight after the half-time whistle before he was hooked. There were three standout damaging misplaced passes he made in a short period of time that put Arsenal under severe pressure, and those will be the lasting memories of his evening.

When you go out and invest £18m in a then 21-year-old from the Belgian Pro League, there has to be an acceptance of bumps in the road. It shouldn’t be forgotten that he wasn’t even due to be playing anywhere near the volume of minutes that he has. Injuries to Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka have thrust the midfielder into the Premier League team.

His first season would always have been designed as a development year with occasional appearances here and there, but here is is starting regularly each week against some of the best sides on the continent.

There is no better way to develop a player than to play him. Nothing else comes close. Coming unstuck against Liverpool’s ferocious high intensity pressing in that second half is the best possible education he can have. There are few attacks around who can execute such a strategy to that elite level.

Being a young player also means you learn faster. You’re more malleable. Sambi will come out of Liverpool like he has in every game he’s played with valuable minutes under a belt he’s still fitting himself into. Let him learn the right way by handing him an opportunity unlike any he was ever expected to have.

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