Championship leaders Burnley have made 23-year-old Arsenal star their top target as they prepare for PL return - Reports
According to Football Insider, Championship side Burnley are keen to sign Arsenal midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga on loan in the summer. Vincent Kompany's team are set for a return to the Premier League next season.
Lokonga, 23, is on loan at Crystal Palace. The Belgian completed the move in January after failing to seal a permanent spot in Mikel Arteta's playing XI. However, his loan spell will end in the summer. Lokonga is set to return to the Emirates in the summer but might be out for another loan spell, with Burnley interested.
Arsenal, meanwhile, could lose Granit Xhaka in the summer. The Swiss international is in advanced talks with Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen as he looks set to return to the Bundesliga.
With the Gunners set to play in the UEFA Champions League next season, Arteta would need a larger pool of players. Hence, whether the Gunners let Lokonga go out on another loan spell remains to be seen.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta spoke ahead of Nottingham Forest clash
Arsenal will return to action on May 20 as they take on Nottingham Forest in a Premier League away clash. Mikel Arteta's team are coming off a 3-0 home defeat against Brighton.
Ahead of the Forest game, Arteta revealed how his players have reacted to the performance (via the Gunners' website):
"Obviously a very difficult one to swallow, especially the way it happened in the last 25 minutes of the game. At first, when it was much more competitive, we should have taken advantage of many more situations that we had in the game.
"It was tough, but at the end, in the following days we discussed where we are, what we’ve done, the remaining two games, what the possibilities are there, what’s in our hands and what we can deliver. We want to continue to be at the level we’ve been at for 10 months."
The Gunners have 85 points from 36 games and trail Manchester City by four points having played a game less. It's highly unlikely Arteta's side can win the league from this position.