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

2. Sambi Lokonga Has Incredible Bravery & Courage

What about Sambi’s second half against Liverpool did we learn? An awful lot, and as much as it’s true he failed that particular test, which player in the Arsenal team showed as much bravery as him?

Jurgen Klopp’s side upped the tempo after the break, giving even less time to their opponents on the ball, yet who was it who never shied away from receiving possession in tight areas? Indeed. While the choices of pass could have been more thoughtful from the defenders as Sambi was surrounded by bodies every time he got the ball, he never once shirked the responsibility. He always moved into space and never stopped calling for the pass.

That is incredible courage and bravery from a player who will never have played against opposition of that quality away from home.

Lacazette had to run back towards his own goal to try and calm Sambi down such was the intensity of the Liverpool press, and still he didn’t let his emotions get the better of him even if he ended up having a nightmare with loose passes everywhere.

His first half performance was exactly the same, minus the problems: Partey was being marked out of the game and the Belgian assumed the role of trying to offer an option in the middle to progress play. While it didn’t always come off, he kept plugging away. This is the kind of attitude you want to see. Sambi won’t be overly down-beaten by what happened. He’ll go again.

In all his interviews he oozes determination and humility. He knows he’s not there yet but he’ll fight tooth and nail to get there. When you’re building a team for the future, it’s those characters you want by your side.

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