Arsenal’s forgotten man who has to bide his time

If the work Arsenal undertook over the summer to reshape the squad was unprecedented, then bidding farewell to a further six in January without bringing anyone else in was unheard of.

Trimming the squad down made no impact on the starting lineup other than allowing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to leave, although even he had been exempt from playing for weeks building up to deadline day.

Mikel Arteta firmly placed his trust in strike duo Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah, as well as a handing the midfield reins to Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey. The latter of those calls was significantly less risky than the former.

Arsenal have altered their system, however, moving away from the double pivot, but have still kept the aforementioned duo as an integral component of the current team.

Arsenal’s forgotten man Albert Sambi Lokonga has to bide his time under Arteta due to the fine form of Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey

The ploy of streamlining the squad isn’t foolproof, as all it takes is one or two injuries in key areas to leave Arsenal unquestionably weaker as a collective. That much is clear at centre-forward, just as it is in central midfield.

If Partey were to suffer an injury, which despite his recent run in the team remains a worry, then the man to come in and replace him is Albert Sambi Lokonga, who has become a forgotten man in north London.

Featuring in some capacity in all but one of the opening 13 Premier League matches, Sambi has played just 99 minutes of football since, with 90 of those coming in the 0-0 draw with Burnley when he was the only senior central midfielder available for selection.

Remaining on the bench for eight of the last ten league games he’s been available for, the Belgian will have to keep biding his time with no starts for him in the league on the horizon.

Now utilising a lone No. 6, it’s growing increasingly apparent that the 22-year-old is being moulded into the long-term successor for Partey. Whenever he played earlier in the season, even with Xhaka, it was Sambi who was tasked with sitting deepest, collecting the ball from the central defenders and progressing play fluidly either side of him.

He’s shown dashes of brilliance in his 19 appearances for the club to date, with many of those being games nobody at the club expected him to be featuring in so soon into his career. Injuries to Xhaka and Partey thrust him into the firing line earlier than anticipated. Nonetheless it’s evident that he is one for the future, who with a full season in the Premier League under his belt can take on more responsibility in 2022/23.

Were Partey to be unavailable it’s no secret that the drop off to Sambi would be huge, as for all the encouraging aspects of his game he still hasn’t adapted fully to the pace and physicality of the division.

There will still be occasions he’s called upon this season. Arsenal play three games over six days in March, a period where the strength of the squad will be vital, even if Mohamed Elneny is also waiting in the wings for involvement.

Sambi still has a huge future ahead of him, and Arsenal returning to European competition will open up spaces across the season for him to remind everyone of his undoubted talents. He may be forgotten at the moment, but he’s far from gone.