Exclusive: Arsenal overcome hurdle to agree loan deal after exit gets green light

Arsenal are in for a busy transfer window and TEAMtalk understands that Albert Sambi Lokonga will be the next star to be offloaded, and we can confirm his next destination.

The Gunners have already announced 24 departures (including youth players) since the end of last season, with the contracts of players such as Cedric Soares and Mohamed Elneny coming to an end.

Arsenal are still keen to trim their squad further though and Lokonga isn’t part of Arteta’s long-term plans, but selling him has been difficult due to his £50,000 per week wages.

Sources have informed TEAMtalk transfer correspondent Fraser (Fletcher) Gillan that Sevilla are set to sign the midfielder on a season-long loan. He agreed personal terms with them last week.

Lokonga spent last season on loan with Luton Town but injuries and a lack of consistent form restricted his playing time, with the centre-mid making only 17 Premier League appearances for the Hatters.

He will hope that he can get back to playing consistent football and revive his once-promising career in LaLiga in the coming campaign.

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Lokonga set to leave on season-long loan

Arsenal and Sevilla have been in talks over a deal for Lokonga for some time and the sticking point has been that the Gunners wanted an obligation to buy clause in the deal, whereas the Spanish club preferred only an option to buy.

Sources have informed TEAMtalk that Arsenal have compromised and we understand that the loan deal will include an option to buy, although it’s not yet clear what fee the two clubs have agreed upon.

Lokonga seems to have accepted that he has to leave Arsenal in order to progress in his career. “My time at Arsenal is slowly coming to the end, I think so,” Lokonga said in an interview in May.

“I had a discussion with the club and what was said is that the best solution for me was to leave.”

Lokonga signed for Arsenal from Anderlecht for £17.2m in 2021 but has never lived up to his potential at the Emirates.

He’s made a total of 39 appearances for the North London club, failing to make a single goal contribution in that time.

Sevilla fans are hopeful that he can be a solid addition though as they aim to bounce back from a disappointing 2023/24 campaign that saw them finish in 14th place in the LaLiga table.

Arsenal eye midfield reinforcements

Meanwhile, Arsenal star Thomas Partey continues to be heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, so it’s likely the Gunners will have to sign at least one new midfielder this summer.

As we exclusively revealed last week, Adrien Rabiot is an option for Arsenal. His contract with Juventus has just come to an end, meaning he’s available on a free transfer this summer.

Manchester United and Aston Villa are also interested in the France international, who is set to become the first out-of-contract player in history to play at the European Championships.

Everton star Amadou Onana also has admirers at Arsenal, so he is another midfielder for supporters to keep an eye out for in the coming weeks.

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