2. Albert Sambi Lokonga
The Belgian midfielder has endured a frustrating second season at Arsenal. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
The Gunners brought Lokonga to the carpet in the summer of 2021 in hope that he’d blossom into a future midfield star at the Emirates.
The Belgian has flashed his talent and there is no reason to suggest that time is running out for him to prove himself, but would a loan move away in January be the worst idea?
This season’s been a struggle for Lokonga and his minutes are likely to be reduced during the second half of the campaign with Mohamed Elneny returning from injury before the break.
Nevertheless, Lokonga certainly has value as both a holding and box-to-box midfielder, so it’d be a risk to let him go considering Arsenal’s current dearth of midfield options. I suspect the club will only facilitate a departure (which would likely be a loan, if anything) if they plan on bringing a midfielder in this winter.
It’s worth noting that Lokonga said back in October that he thought about leaving the club in the summer after a frustrating debut season.
Continued on the next slide…
pic.twitter.com/tyEAqJPMav
<p>— Football Daily (@footballdaily) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/12/17/3-players-leave-arsenal-january-transfer-window/2/"https://twitter.com/footballdaily/status/1603035452038078465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>December 14, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/12/17/3-players-leave-arsenal-january-transfer-window/2/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>The veteran full-back is the only player concretely linked with a move away from the Emirates this winter.</p>
<p>Cedric has been a serviceable option for Mikel Arteta since he joined the club, but he’s barely featured this season and is unlikely to earn many minutes during the second half of the season given that he’s currently third in the right-back depth chart.</p>
<p>Arteta values Cedric’s leadership and the Portuguese defender is said to be a pretty influential member of the dressing room, but I doubt that the club will stand in his way if an offer comes in for him in January.</p>
<p><a title="Arsenal Transfers: Cedric attracting interest ahead of potential January move" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/12/17/3-players-leave-arsenal-january-transfer-window/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/17/arsenal-cedric-attracting-interest-ahead-potential-january-move/" rel="">Fulham are believed to be keen on signing the former Southampton man</a> and they want to bring him to Craven Cottage on a permanent basis.</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/2022/12/17/3-players-leave-arsenal-january-transfer-window/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #2 player that could leave in January </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><h2>2. Albert Sambi Lokonga</h2>
<div id="attachment_129037" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-129037" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/12/17/3-players-leave-arsenal-january-transfer-window/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1242846252.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1242846252.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1242846252-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">The Belgian midfielder has endured a frustrating second season at Arsenal. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<p>The Gunners brought Lokonga to the carpet in the summer of 2021 in hope that he’d blossom into a future midfield star at the Emirates.</p>
<p>The Belgian has flashed his talent and there is no reason to suggest that time is running out for him to prove himself, but would a loan move away in January be the worst idea?</p>
<p>This season’s been a struggle for Lokonga and his minutes are likely to be reduced during the second half of the campaign with Mohamed Elneny returning from injury before the break.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Lokonga certainly has value as both a holding and box-to-box midfielder, so it’d be a risk to let him go considering Arsenal’s current dearth of midfield options. I suspect the club will only facilitate a departure (which would likely be a loan, if anything) if they <a title="3 positions Arsenal should be looking to bolster in January" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/12/17/3-players-leave-arsenal-january-transfer-window/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/12/14/3-positions-arsenal-looking-bolster-january/" rel="">plan on bringing a midfielder in this winter</a>.</p>
<p>It’s worth noting that <a title="Sambi Lokonga admits he thought about leaving Arsenal" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/12/17/3-players-leave-arsenal-january-transfer-window/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/10/19/sambi-lokonga-admits-thought-about-leaving-arsenal/" rel="">Lokonga said back in October</a> that he thought about leaving the club in the summer after a frustrating debut season.</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/2022/12/17/3-players-leave-arsenal-january-transfer-window/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #3 player that could leave in January </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><h2>3. Marquinhos</h2>
<div id="attachment_130787" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-130787" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/12/17/3-players-leave-arsenal-january-transfer-window/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2298,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1433345042.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2298" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1433345042.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1433345042-768x552.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">We haven’t seen much from Marquinhos since his debut. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<p>Another player who could be subject to a loan move away is wide man Marquinhos.</p>
<p>The Brazilian dazzled on his Arsenal debut against FC Zurich but we haven’t seen much else from him since, to be honest. His talent is raw and he’s not yet ready to compete with Bukayo Saka for Premier League minutes. He has performed well for the Under-23s, however.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, I wouldn’t be surprised if the club allowed Marquinhos to leave on loan in the upcoming window.</p>
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<p>The promising winger needs minutes at a senior level, but he won’t be getting them at Arsenal during the second half of the season.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
