‘I’ll GO BACK’: £15m Arsenal man plans to re-join his former club – he doesn’t have FUTURE here
Arsenal midfielder has opened the door to a future Anderlecht return as he faces an uncertain future at the Premier League leaders, speaking to RTBF.
With a domineering central midfielder right at the top of Mikel Arteta’s summer wishlist – be it a Declan Rice or a Moises Caicedo – Lokonga may already be in the final throes of his Gunners career.
The Belgian international was farmed out on loan to Crystal Palace in January; slipping down the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium. He’s already started as many league games under Patrick Vieira as he did during the entire first half of the season at his parent club.
Arsenal will consider selling Lokonga in the upcoming transfer window (The Times). Crystal Palace, should the 23-year-old maintain his early form at Selhurst Park, may be at the front of the queue.
Lokonga, meanwhile, is not ruling out a second spell at Anderlecht somewhere down the line.
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“One day, I’ll go back,” says the former Lotto Park captain. “But I don’t know when that will be. I’ll come back. But (will I) finish my career there? I don’t know.”
Lokonga is one of many high-profile players who rose through the ranks at Anderlecht; skippering one of Belgium’s biggest clubs before his £15 million move to Arsenal during the summer of 2021.
“I wanted to leave,” Lokonga recalls. “I deserved it, given my season, I wasn’t pushed out. The club was even open to me staying one more season.
“But, for my part, Arsenal was an offer that I couldn’t refuse. So I said it was better for me to leave.”
Time will tell how much of that £15 million investment Arsenal will recoup. If a Rice or a Caicedo arrives, joining Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka and Jorginho, Lokonga will be at least fifth in Arteta’s pecking order.
