“Incredible player” – Manager comments make buying Arsenal midfielder all the likelier

Arsenal allowed Sambi Lokonga to join Sevilla on a loan deal in the summer window, after letting him spend last season on loan at Luton Town.

The midfielder struggled with hamstring injuries since the start of last season. He missed over 100 days since then, of which 44 of them were after joining the La Liga side.

Lokonga has made five appearances for Sevilla and registered his first assist in their 2-0 win over Espanyol last weekend. The Arsenal man was praised for his performance.

Sevilla manager García Pimienta has been speaking to Canal Sur, where he discussed the 25-year-old. His comments are relayed by El Desmarque.

The outlet claims the manager has ‘zero doubts’ about the Belgium international’s quality even though his development was partly restricted due to lack of continuity in the past few seasons.

Pimienta, who has hailed the Arsenal owned player, has explained how Lokonga is able to help the Andalusian club.

“Look at his CV. Sambi gives you that calmness in the game, that pause, he seems to make everything easy, he has the ability to give pause and judgement,” he said.

“Injuries have prevented him from having continuity, but the other day we saw his level. He’s 25 years old, he’s got a lot ahead of him, for me he’s an incredible player.”

The Sevilla manager remains hopeful the midfielder has the “continuity that he hasn’t had in the Premier League.”

Pimienta’s comments indicate Sevilla would make an attempt to retain the player beyond this season.

Sevilla have an option to buy Lokonga by offering €10m to Arsenal. El Desmarque claim they have an ‘opportunity’ to retain him, and could use that if the Belgian were to continue impressing this season.