Eddie Nketiah was filmed telling Arsenal teammate Albert Sambi Lokonga to stop feeling sorry for himself over a lack of game time under manager Mikel Arteta.
The pair’s conversation was captured in an episode of Amazon Prime Video’s ‘All or Nothing: Arsenal’ documentary series.
It all started when Lokonga failed to answer questions about how he was feeling when asked by teammates Nketiah, along with Nuno Tavares and Emile Smith Rowe. You can watch the footage below.
The trio then commented on how Lokonga’s mood has changed since his summer arrival.
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Lokonga then said: “I was playing!”
The comment by Lokonga seemed to have slightly irked Nketiah, who responded with: “So what my friend? You think you're the only man not f***ing playing my friend?
“Stop feeling sorry for yourself.”
In truth, both Nketiah and Lokonga have not been able to impress Arteta enough to warrant a regular spot in his starting eleven.
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Last season, both players were hoping to get minutes in the cup matches, however, things did not go to plan as they were dumped out of the FA Cup in the early stages.
The Gunners did have a good run in the Carabao Cup as they managed to reach the semi finals between falling to eventual winners Liverpool.
Towards the back end of the season Nketiah got more opportunities due to the departure of Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and the drastic drop in Alexandre Lacazette’s form. Nketiah had started Arsenal’s last eight league games of last season, scoring five goals. His good run of form earned him a new long term contract at the Emirates.
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Whilst an injury to Thomas Partey presented Lokonga with the chance to play more games alongside Granit Xhaka in the Arsenal midfield.
During the whole of the 21/22 season, Lokonga managed 25 appearances across all competitions but only 1506 minutes on the pitch, which equates to 16 full matches. A small amount compared to the 45 matches Arsenal played.
Lokonga was one of the rising stars in Belgian football, the midfielder was an important player at Anderlecht under the guidance of former Manchester City player Vincent Kompany, but since his move from the Jupiler Pro League to the Premier League, he has struggled with the huge difference in quality.
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Both players’ fortunes look set to be the same this season as they have so far failed to earn a place in Arteta’s side.
Nketiah will have a huge job in his hands if he is to displace summer signing Gabriel Jesus.
For Lokonga, it seems that the Gunners boss’ first choice midfield pairing remains as Partey and Xhaka, with speculations that Arteta is targeting further signings in the midfield department.
Topics: Arsenal, Eddie Nketiah, Mikel Arteta
Marcus Chan