Why the Moises Caicedo acquisition is more urgent than fans think

Arsenal fans are living in dreamland. The Gunners sit five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table with a game in hand. However, it is not all sunshine and rainbows in north London, as Arteta’s men took an early exit from the FA Cup. The loss is not devastating, but fans are beginning to worry about Arsenal’s midfield depth.

Despite the defeat, most fans are holding strong. The game started and, for what felt like the first time in a while, Man City and Arsenal were at a true stalemate. Erling Haaland looked dangerous and baited Rob Holding into a yellow card, but other than that the Gunners were playing well.

The starting lineup implied Arteta wanted to win, even though he rested several key starters – at least initially. The game was equal with most of the possession being shared in the middle of the park. However, in the 46th minute Thomas Partey came off the pitch with what Arteta called “discomfort” and on came Albert Sambi Lokonga. The young Belgian has had an up-and-down start to his Arsenal career. There are games where he has shown real flashes of talent, but he’s often disappointed.

As soon as Sambi took on the responsibility of filling in for Partey, the game shifted in momentum. The hosts began to dominate the midfield. Jack Grealish had, rather annoyingly, a fine game, and kept pushing down the left wing. The former Aston Villa star rolled the ball onto the edge of the box, drawing the double team, and shot a pass into defender Nathan Ake, who rolled the ball into the far corner like he was Johan Cruyff.

Yet, one of the primary talking points from Friday night’s defeat is a clip that’s done the rounds on Arsenal fan airwaves. Some fans may only be pointing this out because they have an agenda against the player, but, still, there are concerns in midfield.

Why the Moises Caicedo acquisition is more urgent than fans think

Sambi can be seen out of position, not filling useful space, and unfortunately unaware of Ake’s plans to shoot. Sambi’s inaction caused the shot to be of high quality. Whether or not the Belgian could have prevented the goal is another issue, but he certainly could have closed down the space.

The drop-off between Partey and Lokonga, statistically speaking, was non-existent on Friday night. According to stats provided by Sofascore, Sambi had the better game. He had more touches with 29 to Partey’s 24, he had 100% pass accuracy with more passes than Partey’s 78%, and he lost possession once compared to Partey’s four times. However, stats never tell the full story. Partey is a diamond of a midfielder; he can defend, break the lines, find spaces, play quick passes, work hard and, most importantly, rocket the ball into the top corner if necessary.

All that needs to be said is that the three games Arsenal have lost this year have all been when Partey hasn’t played 90 minutes.

Here is the issue, the fear all Arsenal fans have had since the arrival of our number 5. There is not a bigger drop-off in quality in the Premier League in terms of losing one player than when Arsenal’s Thomas Partey is injured. The Moises Caicedo transfer now looks tremendously unlikely, but thankfully the Ghanaian isn’t expected to miss anytime with the issue he sustained on Friday night despite Arteta’s initial concerns.

Lokonga clearly has talent but seems low on confidence and, in general, it doesn’t seem like he is enjoying his football. We know from the All or Nothing Documentary that Sambi is unhappy with not playing.

Without a doubt, this story is bigger because Lokonga was filmed as the first of Arteta’s men to return to the locker room without applauding the travelling Gooners. Arsenal fans can see Lokonga’s talent. Is he not getting enough game time? Are Partey’s boots just too big to fill? If all else fails, time shall tell us the answer.

For now, Arsenal should be seeking a backup midfielder. With Elneny injured, an injury-prone Rolls Royce like Partey, and a reluctant vendor in Brighton & Hove Albion, it appears that Arsenal may have to swoop in for Declan Rice sooner than anticipated.