Arsenal ‘WILL NOT let Albert Sambi Lokonga on loan despite Fabio Vieira joining Vincent Kompany’s Burnley’

ALBERT SAMBI LOKONGA is reportedly set to stay at Arsenal this summer despite the arrival of Fabio Vieira.

There have been rumors that Burnley manager Vincent Kompany could loan the 22-year-old midfielder, whom he previously coached at Anderlecht.

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But boss Mikel Arteta wants a strong squad next season to be competitive on four fronts.

And football.london are reporting that Lokonga will remain at the Emirates rather than being loaned out.

The Gunners recently confirmed the £34million acquisition of Vieira and there remains interest in Youri Tielemans, both playing in Lokonga’s position.

Elsewhere, Mohamed Elneny has written a contract extension, while Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey are also in similar roles to Lokonga, meaning Arteta has plenty of options in the middle of the park.

Still, Belgium international Lokonga seems destined to stay in north London.

The Europa League is seen as a good path for the development of last summer’s £17m signing.

Lokonga made 23 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal in his debut season.

The midfielder was a regular in the first half of the season when Xhaka was injured.

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He played in 12 of the first 13 Premier League games of the season.

However, the return of Xhaka limited Lokonga’s playing time and the Belgian only played six Premier games after Christmas.

Although Lokonga was mainly an unused backup in the second half of the campaign, he appears to be included in Arteta’s plans for the future.