Arsenal finally have a ‘natural leader’

It could be argued – and certainly has been by many of the Gunners’ faithful – that Arsenal have lacked a leader at times within their squad.

There have been a number of players who have arrived at the Emirates Stadium over the years that have all appeared to have had the skills required to lead the team, however there have been a number of them who seemed to go into the shadows that the responsibility of leading the team meant.

When you think of previous Arsenal leaders, individuals such as Tony Adams, Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry perhaps immediately spring to mind, as do a number of other Gunners’ legends.

But, in recent years, there have been questions and a cry for a leadership figure in north London, despite Unai Emery’s absurd attempt to try and convince everyone that there were five captains within his squad.

Anyway, moving on from that chapter in the history books, Mikel Arteta is obviously in charge and has had Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang the main skipper and things have not necessarily gotten better.

However, their latest signing has already shown leadership skills at his previous club and despite only being 21, Albert Sami Lokonga is understood to be a ‘natural leader’ and one that could make a huge difference in an instance. If he does manage to make an immediate impact, there is no reason as to why the Gunners will be a huge appeal for those soccer betting, as they will only have the Premier League to focus on in the 2021/22 season, as they will not be competing in Europe.

Having managed to acquire a transfer fee of £17 million (as well as additional fees in the future), Anderlecht’s chief Peter Verbeke – who allowed for the move to happen – has described the player as a leader and perhaps knows what he is talking about considering the youngster was the Belgian club’s skipper.

‘Sambi of course is a very good player,’ he told Sky Sports News, via The Daily Mail.

‘He is one of the top talents coming from our academy. He can play as a defensive midfield player, he can also play as a box-to-box player. Especially in the last two seasons at the club, he has developed really well.

‘Sambi is someone who is good on the ball. His technical ability in tight spaces is really good, good short and long passing.

‘Sambi has been the captain of the club of a very young Anderlecht, of course.

‘He was still a natural captain and leader on and off the pitch, and he is someone that I would say is really open-minded.

‘I think he will settle in really well in a new club because his technical ability is that good, I don’t think there will be any adaptation problems.’

‘Of course, the Premier League is a higher level than the Belgian league, but the boys that have been developed at Anderlecht like Youri Tielemans and Romelu Lukaku, I think they settled in well because they got a good education at the Anderlecht academy.

‘So, I expect Sambi will do the same thing.’

Of course, there is plenty to get excited about regarding the future with Lokonga at the Emirates Stadium with our scouting report highlighting a number of positives about the 21-year-old.

Given the No. 23 shirt, the defensive midfielder is a Belgium Under-21 international and has been playing first-team football since December 2017 for Anderlecht, in which he made 37 appearances in all competitions last season.

The Premier League will obviously be a huge test for the Belgian, but there is plenty of confidence around his ability and with the same education that he received to the likes of Youri Tielemans and Romelu Lukaku, then perhaps Verbeke’s words are something to get excited about in north London this summer!

Lokonga is not the only player to have arrived at the Emirates Stadium this summer, though, as Arteta is intent on making changes to his team. Nuno Tavares has joined from Benefica, whilst Ben White’s £50m switch from Brighton and Hove Albion should be confirmed in the very near future.

With Tammy Abraham and Manuel Locatelli still being linked, it is obvious Arsenal are working hard to ensure they do not suffer another embarrassing Premier League season.