Arsenal summer signing Albert Sambi Lokonga ‘hasn’t taken his opportunity’ and is ‘not quite ready yet’, according to Gunners legend Martin Keown.
The north club signed the 22-year-old from Anderlecht in the summer transfer window in a deal worth £17million.
Lokonga has had to be patient in terms of playing time, with and Granit Xhaka ahead of him in the midfield pecking order.
But with Partey out injured, Lokonga was afforded the chance to start in the defeats against Brighton and Southampton.
After losing their previous three games on the spin, Arteta decided to draft in Mohamed Elneny, who has rarely featured this season, to partner Xhaka in midfield against Chelsea on Wednesday night.
The Gunners earned a crucial 4-2 victory over their London rivals at Stamford Bridge as their hopes of landing a top-four finish were boosted.
While assessing Elneny’s performance against Thomas Tuchel’s side, Keown praised Arteta for playing the midfielder, and admitted Lokonga isn’t quite ready.
‘He had a bit of a slow start at the beginning, the first two balls he had he gave the ball away. But he recovered well. He slotted alongside Xhaka, formed a really good partnership with Xhaka in that midfield,’ Keown told Stadium Astro.
‘At times he was coming out to help as well. He grew into the game.
‘He’s got good experience, he’s played at a high level, it was the right call bringing him into the team.
‘Lokonga looks as if he’s not quite ready yet. Arsenal have got an array of players, [Matteo] Guendouzi, and [Lucas] Torreira are out on loan, Elneny was kept here for a reason, because the manager believed in him. But he’s had to wait again.
‘He [Arteta] wants to go in a slightly different direction, but Lokonga hasn’t taken that opportunity, so he’s gone back to somebody he’s had in the past.
‘I don’t think he [Elneny] has ever let Arteta down.’
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