After a nightmarish spell on the sidelines, Mohamed Elneny has finally returned to training for Arsenal, which could spell bad news for Albert Sambi Lokonga.
Why Elneny return is bad for Lokonga at Arsenal
Well, with Emile Smith Rowe and Oleksandr Zinchenko currently injured, Mikel Arteta has been forced to work with limited options in midfield while Elneny has also been absent.
The situation has led to Lokonga receiving some rare action in a lone No.6 role ahead of the backline, although it is a position where the £53,000-a-week man has struggled to impose himself.
Now, we believe Elneny will jump ahead of the Belgium international in the pecking order, after he regained full fitness.
You can see a photo of the Egypt international back in action at London Colney below.
Of course, nothing is guaranteed, although we highly doubt Arteta will choose Lokonga ahead of his trusty No.25 now he is back and available for selection.
The Spaniard fielded Lokonga in a No.6 role in the 2-0 defeat to PSV Eindhoven on Thursday, subbing him off after just 57 minutes as the Dutch side ran riot.
In a timid display, WhoScored shows that the Belgian only completed one successful tackle and one interception, while also failing to record a single key pass, something Thomas Partey often does from that area when punching passes through the lines.
Lokonga has time at Arsenal
While he hasn’t exactly grabbed his chances in the starting XI with both hands when they’ve come around, it must be remembered that Lokonga is still only 23.
The Arsenal No.23 finds himself in a fantastic environment to develop, under a manager in Arteta who knows how to get the best out of youngsters, such as Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Smith Rowe.
Unfortunately, the No.6 role is a difficult position for a young player to grasp, so fans should not expect Lokonga to walk into it and match the levels of Partey, one of the best in the business at screening the backline.
Lokonga should expect to see Elneny trusted to perform that role ahead of him when needed given his vast amount of experience, and while that may upset the Belgian, it gives him time to develop his understanding of it behind the scenes.
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