LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 16: Thomas Partey of Arsenal during the UEFA Europa League round of 16 leg two match between Arsenal FC and Sporting CP at Emirates Stadium on March 16, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
2 midfielders Arsenal should sell this summer
Wow. What a start Arsenal have made to the summer transfer window.
An early spending spree has been followed up by the contract extensions of William Saliba and Reiss Nelson, now it’s time to sell.
In this mini-series, we’ll run through the position groups (excluding goalkeepers) and list several players that the Gunners should consider parting ways with this summer – via loan or permanently.
2 midfielders Arsenal should sell this summer
Up next are the midfielders. Here are two the Gunners should be looking to sell following Granit Xhaka’s move to Bayer Leverkusen.
▶️ Now playing: Every Granit Xhaka goal contribution for us pic.twitter.com/8fjETdvluI
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) July 6, 2023
1. Albert Sambi Lokonga
It just hasn’t worked out for Lokonga in north London. The talented young midfielder from Belgium was always in need of refinement, and he was handed enough chances during his first 18 months at the club to convince Mikel Arteta he was a project worth pursuing.
While gifted with the ball, Lokonga’s flaws out of possession were exposed in the Premier League and he struggled to make an impact during Arsenal’s Europa League campaign last season.
A loan move to Crystal Palace for the second half of the campaign seemed wise, but he barely featured after Roy Hodgson replaced Patrick Vieira as manager. Thus, Lokonga is back to square one with his career at a crossroads.
He’s not yet shown he’s capable of performing for a side with Arsenal’s ambition, so an exit this summer makes sense. Burnley are believed to be interested, but there’s been nothing by way of an offer.
Continued on the next slide…
pic.twitter.com/8fjETdvluI
<p>— Arsenal (@Arsenal) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/07/2-midfielders-arsenal-sell-summer/"https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1677029772667367427?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>July 6, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/07/2-midfielders-arsenal-sell-summer/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<h2>1. Albert Sambi Lokonga</h2>
<p>It just hasn’t worked out for Lokonga in north London. The talented young midfielder from Belgium was always in need of refinement, and he was handed enough chances during his first 18 months at the club to convince Mikel Arteta he was a project worth pursuing.</p>
<p>While gifted with the ball, Lokonga’s flaws out of possession were exposed in the Premier League and he struggled to make an impact during Arsenal’s Europa League campaign last season.</p>
<p>A loan move to Crystal Palace for the second half of the campaign seemed wise, but he barely featured after Roy Hodgson replaced Patrick Vieira as manager. Thus, Lokonga is back to square one with his career at a crossroads.</p>
<p>He’s not yet shown he’s capable of performing for a side with Arsenal’s ambition, so an exit this summer makes sense. <a title="Albert Sambi Lokonga’s likely next club – revealed" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/07/2-midfielders-arsenal-sell-summer/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/04/arsenal-albert-sambi-lokongas-likely-next-club-revealed/" rel="">Burnley are believed to be interested</a>, but there’s been nothing by way of an offer.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/07/2-midfielders-arsenal-sell-summer/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #2 midfielder to sell this summer </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_134856" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-134856" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/07/2-midfielders-arsenal-sell-summer/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1706,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1247726319-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1706" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1247726319-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1247726319-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1247726319-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1247726319-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Arsenal have a decision to make regarding Partey this summer. (Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<h2>2. Thomas Partey</h2>
<p>There’s no denying that Partey is one of Europe’s best defensive midfielders when he’s fit and firing. He was excellent for much of last season, with his availability improving before his fitness seemed to desert him down the stretch.</p>
<p>Partey’s conclusion to 2022/23 was poor by his lofty standards, and Arteta started to favour Jorginho and his metronomic efficiency in the build-up over the Ghanaian, who was shunted out to right-back for the final two games of the campaign.</p>
<p>I don’t think the 30-year-old is a player the club should be actively looking to sell, but I wouldn’t be against moving him on if a reasonable offer (somewhere around the £30m-£35m mark) comes in. Partey isn’t believed to be interested in a move to the Saudi Pro League despite their intrigue, although Juventus could yet make a move.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="hoEW4MpEP6"><p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/07/2-midfielders-arsenal-sell-summer/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/06/william-salibas-new-salary-compares-arsenal-teammates/">How William Saliba’s new salary compares to Arsenal teammates</a></p></blockquote>
<p><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" title="“How William Saliba’s new salary compares to Arsenal teammates” — Pain in the Arsenal" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/07/2-midfielders-arsenal-sell-summer/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/06/william-salibas-new-salary-compares-arsenal-teammates/embed/#?secret=NnC89J3JoV#?secret=hoEW4MpEP6" data-secret="hoEW4MpEP6" width="500" height="282" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p></div>
<p>The club have bolstered their midfield this summer with the arrivals of<a title="Ready to go? Declan Rice ‘buzzing’ to get to Arsenal" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/07/2-midfielders-arsenal-sell-summer/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/07/declan-rice-buzzing-arsenal-transfer-window-mikel-arteta/" rel=""> Declan Rice </a>and Kai Havertz, but parting ways with Partey without signing another midfielder before the window closes would be a risk.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
