Albert Sambi Lokonga against summer Arsenal exit?

Last summer, the midfielder left Anderlecht to join the Gunners on a five-year contract, the deal costing the Premier League outfit in the region of £17m.

However, while big things were expected from the 22-year-old, he was provided with just 12 starts in the Premier League, his last coming on April 16.

Since the end of the campaign, it has been suggested that Sambi Lokonga would be allowed to depart on loan in order to gain regular first-team football.

Nevertheless, according to football.london, the Belgium international wants to stay at the Emirates Stadium for next season.

The report claims that the player would prefer to try to impress Mikel Arteta, rather than spending a year out of the loop at another club.

As it stands, Sambi Lokonga is regarded as fourth choice in the middle of the pitch, behind Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny.

However, Fabio Vieira, who is a more attack-minded option, is on the brink of sealing a switch to North London from Porto, that transfer expected to be confirmed by Arsenal over the coming days.

Furthermore, Arsenal have been consistently linked with several other midfielders, including Leicester City's Youri Tielemans who has just a year left on his contract.

The report adds that Arsenal may take the opportunity to use Sambi Lokonga in the Europa League, providing him with the platform to make a bigger impact.

Much could depend on how Arsenal approach trying to make further additions in the final third, the club currently being credited with big-money bids for Raphinha and Gabriel Jesus.

On Monday, it was claimed that Arsenal may pay in excess of £50m to sign the former from Leeds United, the development being somewhat of a surprise because of the alleged interest in the latter.

With Alexandre Lacazette having departed on a free transfer, Arteta requires a replacement, and the general consensus is that Jesus was his preferred target.

As it stands, though, it is unclear whether Arsenal will prioritise getting a deal over the line for Raphinha or his Brazilian compatriot, who is expected to cost slightly less money.