It hasn't been an ideal entrée to the Premier League this season for Lokonga, but there also haven't been many periods when we've been both settled enough in our results and progress, and spread out across enough competitions that it's been imaginable to be starting Lokonga ahead of Partey or Xhaka.
That we're using Elneny instead of him at the moment speaks to the overall balance of experience in the side, but also to Arteta's conservatism and the difficulty our manager has had adequately rotating the side, in turn pointing to the persistent question marks over his coaching performance and the conflicts and outside critics that we've faced at various points in time. Again, though, we've never really been in a place to relax in the league this season.
Lokonga, like a few of the other youngsters we've got who are worth developing for the first team but who have been a bit underserved in the selection this season, would likely get greater chances across a greater number of competitions next season. And to be honest, despite his qualities, this lad is quite raw, and at times has been caught out or shown where he's a little lacking in composure and confidence. I hope he gets his chance so that the apparently canny investment we made in him last summer can be recouped.
