“I am proud of this new step” Arsenal announce Albert Sambi Lokonga

Anderlecht posted and deleted a farewell to Albert Sambi Lokonga as he prepares to complete his move to Arsenal, with an announcement imminent.

Anderlecht's Albert Sambi Lokonga celebrates after scoring during a soccer match between RSC Anderlecht and Club Brugge KV, Sunday 11 April 2021. Photo: VIRGINIE LEFOUR
Anderlecht’s Albert Sambi Lokonga celebrates after scoring during a soccer match between RSC Anderlecht and Club Brugge KV, Sunday 11 April 2021. Photo: VIRGINIE LEFOUR

Posting on Monday morning, the official RSC Anderlecht Twitter account posted a farewell message to Albert Sambi Lokonga. They wrote “All the best, Albert. Mauve à vie.” (which means “purple for life”) along with a link to a page on their site.

The post has since been removed and the link to the site returns an “access denied” page. But there’s now little doubt that Sambi Lokonga is set to finally complete his transfer to Arsenal.

Sambi Lokonga’s announcement was delayed by the temporary closure of London Colney. Members of the Arsenal u18s and u23s were forced into isolation after positive Covid tests at London Colney, leading to deep cleaning of the facility.

The player arrived in London over a week ago, but he had to undergo a period of isolation before he could join the squad. Then there were the problems at Colney, but now he’s finally ready to make the transfer official.

Arsenal reached an agreement with Anderlecht for a fee in the region of €17.5m, rising to as much as €22m with potential bonuses. Sambi Lokonga will sign a five-year deal to 2026.