Albert Sambi Lokonga: a phone call from Patrick Vieira convinced me to join Crystal Palace on loan

Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira persuaded Albert Sambi Lokonga to leave the Gunners and join his Crystal Palace team on loan with a phone call, the midfielder revealed.

The Eagles confirmed the deadline day capture of Lokonga on Tuesday, in a bid to strengthen their squad in the middle of the pitch until the end of the current campaign. 

Palace boss Vieira made over 270 appearances for Arsenal in a spell from 1996 to 2005, winning three Premier League titles in that time. 

But the 46-year-old World Cup winner had no qualms with talking the 23-year-old Belgian into joining the south London club for the remainder of their season. 

Lokonga told the Crystal Palace website: ‘I had him on the phone and it was a good opportunity to come here, to show myself and to help the boys reach their objectives. 

Albert Sambi Lokonga was persuaded to briefly leave Arsenal by former player Patrick Vieira

The Crystal Palace boss, who played for Arsenal between 1996 and 2005, spoke to Lokonga

‘He said to me ‘welcome’. He is going to push me to be a better player – I am looking forward to it.’

Lokonga’s exit comes amid a great Arsenal run this season to the top of the Premier League table, but he has seen his own playing time in domestic matches limited by Thomas Partey. 

His final Arsenal appearance before the loan move was replacing Partey at half-time as the Gunners exited the FA Cup against Manchester City. 

The Gunners also made their own deadline day move by acquiring former Chelsea midfielder Jorginho, who would probably have left Lokonga on the sidelines for longer during their season.  

The Belgian admitted: ‘It was not easy [to leave Arsenal] because as you can see they are top of the league, but for me the important thing was the confidence of the coach.’

Lokonga could make his Crystal Palace debut when they travel to Manchester United on Saturday afternoon, pledging that he is ‘fully fit’ and ‘ready to start’ if Vieira calls him into action immediately. 

The midfielder has not set a target for the number of games he wants to play with the Eagles during the remainder of this campaign, saying ‘we need to take it game by game’.

Lokonga said: ‘I would like to gain some minutes – I want to go as far as possible with the team. I don’t want to say a number, but I will try to push me and the team to do the maximum to reach the top.’

Lokonga joined Arsenal back in July 2021, making 39 appearances for the Gunners to date

Lokonga joined Arsenal from Anderlecht in July 2021, making 39 appearances for Mikel Arteta’s men in the past year and a half.  

Palace sit in 12th place in the Premier League, but boosted their squad options on deadline day with the capture of Lokonga and also Stuttgart’s Naouirou Ahamada earlier in the week. 

After Manchester United, Palace face further league games against Brighton, Brentford and Liverpool during the month of February. 

The Brighton game could be his first taste of Selhurst Park as a Crystal Palace player – although he briefly featured for Arsenal there in the opening fixture of the season, coming on as a substitute in injury time.

Lokonga added: ‘The fans are always pushing the team and it’s good to play at home and to know that the fans are behind you.

‘I can’t wait to meet [the Palace fans]. Hopefully you will be behind us for the rest of the season.’