Lokonga: Page 14 - The Arsenal discussion forum and community: One More in the Tolly

Lokonga

deardevil

Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert wrote:
Kompany clowned us.

Wasn't it Thierry that recommended him?

Sambi isn't bad. He's a decent player, but obviously that's not good enough.

JazzG

He needs to go out on loan

Claudius

jones wrote:
Claudius wrote:
Toss him in the Thames

You were happy with 5th last season because of the developmental curve we were on but can't extend the same courtesy to a boy who gets a handful of starts spread over a season?

LOL. It's a joke. We aren't actually tossing him in the Thames.

My take on this squad.

Keep - First 11, ESR, Tomi, Turner, Vieira
Demote - Lokonga, Elneny, Nketiah, Marquinhos, Patino, Balogun
Depends - Tierney
Sell - Holding, Cedric, Nelson,

What you quickly see is we have a small team, and we desperately need 2-3 really strong players to come in between the "Keep" and "Demote".

deardevil

JazzG wrote:
He needs to go out on loan

I wouldn't sell, either. Just loan him and Marquinhos.

Qwiss

Claudius wrote:
jones wrote:
You were happy with 5th last season because of the developmental curve we were on but can't extend the same courtesy to a boy who gets a handful of starts spread over a season?

LOL. It's a joke. We aren't actually tossing him in the Thames.

My take on this squad.

Keep - First 11, ESR, Tomi, Turner, Vieira
Demote - Lokonga, Elneny, Nketiah, Marquinhos, Patino, Balogun
Depends - Tierney
Sell - Holding, Cedric, Nelson,

What you quickly see is we have a small team, and we desperately need 2-3 really strong players to come in between the "Keep" and "Demote".

Demote 2 players who are on loan and even if they weren't would be clearly 3rd choice at best in the pecking order for their position anyway?

And we shouldn't sell Holding unless he pushes the issue. No way we get a better player to replace him at his position in the squad.

Elneny should be in the sell pile IMO. He's 30 and offers fuck all, the thoughts of him getting worse and being in this squad is nightmare stuff.

Clrnc

Agree.

I will hold on to Nelson for now. Seen some interesting bits in his game that is useful for us

Claudius

I included Patino and Balogun under Demote because I expect them to be back, but I would like them back behind someone like Danilo and Mudryk respectively.

Holding cannot play Arteta football. He has a very specific role right now. Come in after 85 minutes to shore up defense. But he cannot play a full 90 because he destroys the passing game. He’s slow so he drops back, it drops the whole team back and expands passing distances. This is highly obvious when he’s playing. Biggest misfit. Just replace with Ndicka and call it a day.

Unless Nelson has a massive acceleration, there is no point keeping him. We need players who can be depended on if there are injuries or fatigue.

KingslandBarge

KingslandBarge bit harsh to say at the time but not much has changed since the first impressions.

I don’t think his passing and work on the ball was an issue last night, but the lack of energy and defensive nous as was pointed out. Once again, underscores the difficulty of identifying the type of games he can be trusted to play.

Agree with Qwiss that he needs a loan. A permanent sale below 10 million seems too low, and he’s higher value than that. A loan can drive that up.

The whole thing left me slightly down.

JazzG

He needs to go out on loan, yesterday his positioning was so bad. Rarely see Odegaard get annoyed but he was bollocking him as well.

Gunner89

Worrying he has't improved one bit in 18 months.

He's young but not particularly. Turns 24 this year.

Look for a permanent buyer and sell this guy.

JazzG

Doubt we'd even recover what we paid if we try to sell now. Needs to go out on loan, he's a lot better than what he has shown for us. Then reassess things from there.

Clrnc

JazzG Why wouldn't we? Plenty of young stars either flopped or don't even get much chances at top clubs after they were bought and they flipped them for good profits.

JazzG

Clrnc This is Arsenal football club, we don't know how how to sell players!

Qwiss

Yeah I'd loan him out in the hopes it would push his value a bit.

Coombs

Starting to genuinely dislike him now.

Claudius

Lol @ dislike.
So I was watching Lokonga again today. And it’s really just the two issues that stood out. First, vacating midfield and creating space for City to pass and run at us. Second, running with the ball to towards the man he is passing to or running towards the man for a pass. Just kills press resistance.

Now these are not skill issues. They’re intelligence things that are about adapting to pressing football. This can be coached. Intensity can also be coached. The kid has very high technical ability, which is hard to coach into a professional. I would send him to Brighton as part of a Caicedo deal 🙂 or other footballing team, eg Burnley

Coombs

Claudius This can be coached.

How has it not already been coached, then?

lorddulaarsenal

Has a lot of talent. Great control, pausa. Think it’s more of an attitude issue with him. Loan him out to someone in the Prem

Tam

lorddulaarsenal agreed, very little that a better attitude wouldn’t fix. But we’ve got a tight squad who are on the same wavelength, and he’s been here long enough to buy into that.

The two instances that concern me now is Nketia’s comments to him in the documentary, and Odegaard last night. Both showed signs off annoyance with his attitude and the worry has to go he whether he has the trust and belief of his teammates.

I’m not saying he’s an Ozil or Auba level problem, but he’s not got the talent to persist with. It was a seemingly decent gamble but it hasn’t paid off. Don’t doubt he’ll have a decent career somewhere, but it won’t be here and I’d rather just move him on if we get the opportunity.

Big Willie

Tam Nketia’s comments to him in the documentary

What did he say? I'm still yet to watch the documentary.

Mirth

Big Willie

« Previous Page Next Page »