#4 In the process, we trust: Belgium football expert on Albert Lokonga, Data Visualisations: Albert Lokonga, How much should we pay for Ødegaard?
Expert Opinon on Albert Lokonga
Albert Sambi Lokonga has been extensively linked with Arsenal in recent weeks with the Gunners reportedly interested in signing the 21-year-old to strengthen their midfield.
I requested Doc, who has been following Belgium football for a long time and is currently working as a Data Analyst for the Belgium Pro League side KV Kortrijk, to share his opinion on Lokonga and he was generous enough to oblige to my request.
Below is the full excerpt from the interview:
Q: A bit on the background of Albert Sambi Lokonga, Doc?
A: Sambi Lokonga was born in Belgium and is of Congolese descent, and his brother Paul-José M’Poku is also a professional footballer. He played for Standard Liège. Lokonga has the surname of the mother, Mpoku that of the father.
Q: How would you describe his playing style and strengths?
A: He is a good ball progressor. He has the ability to pass several oponents before playing the ball deep in the opposition 3rd. Very much able to recover balls deep in own half and deliver them high up the pitch. He has been the main ‘number 6 + number 8’ for Anderlecht. He is an interesting combination of both.
His strong points are passing, vision, tactical intelligence, technique, he also has good ball retention under pressure.
Q: And his weaknesses?
A: He can struggle against high intensity press. He sometimes gives the impression of a 6 who is just isn’t defending hard enough or an 8 who lingers a little too long on the ball to become a real Box-to-box.
At times his decision making has shown to be quite rash. Also he needs to keep his temper in control — flashes of the fiery youth is good, too much would be bad. His issues are not big enough & experience would correct them.
Q: Captain of the club at the age of 21, that’s not seen too often, how did that come about?
A: He has a very mature head on young shoulders. His football intelligence is an important factor for him getting captaincy at such young age.
Q: Can you find any resemblance between him and any other Premier League player?
In some ways, he is very similar to Sander Berge but with better passing abilities. Berge has better ball retention under pressure though. For me Lokonga’s ability as ball progressor is his best trait. Not a lot of players can progress the ball via both passes and carries equally well.
Q: Lastly, do you see him being a success at Arsenal and in the Premier League and can he be trusted to start right away at this level?
For me, he should not be considered a starter at EPL immediately. He will need time to adjust to the intensity of the league. But if we give him time, I trust him to do well in longer term.
Albert Lokonga Visualized
One reason why I feel Albert Lokonga can be a credible replacement for Granit Xhaka, in the long run, is because of the similarity of their games when it comes to their positioning. Albert Lokonga drops deep efficiently to receive possession from the defense and while he does drive forward with it, he doesn’t over-commit himself as showcased by his lack of touches in the final third. That means he keeps himself in a decent position to resist any counter-attacks from the opposition which his side is higher up the pitch.
His passing is nothing expansive and predominantly simple. He likes to play short passes as a medium to dodge immediate pressure and then carry forward after receiving possession back. He combines efficiently with players around him as shown by his top three passing clusters. In the red cluster, he is combining more with the other midfielder/pivot, while in the blue he is playing passes to his full-back.
The third cluster is more representative of his inexpensive passing as he seems to be looking for sideways options when he gets into more advanced positions.
While he is not known for his defensive abilities, however, it’s interesting to see that most of his defensive actions are made just in front of the defense. He’s also making considerable defensive actions much higher up the pitch, a unique skill set managers are increasingly looking for in a midfielder.
As mentioned earlier in the interview, Lokonga is known for his progressive game. On the right, starting locations of all his progressive carries are given. Quite a few of his progressive carries are originated deep in his own half, which is a fitting display of his productive carrying ability. As shown by the map on the left he makes a lot of progressive passes, however, most of them are feeding on the wings rather than making central penetration.
How much should we pay for Ødegaard?
Seen quite a few arguments both for and against signing Martin Ødegaard for a price tag of £40m. And considering it’s a topic of relevance for the club (atleast I hope so xx) and obviously the fans, it was only right if I explained my stand with adequate reasoning.
If you haven’t read my tweet on Ødegaard yet then don’t bother opening up that bird application, I’ll link it down below for you.
https://twitter.com/TheArsenalog/status/1401875888157827079?s=20
(Apologies if the above tweet is not embedded)
Now, while some may say Martin Ødegaard didn’t get enough game time to truly showcase his talent but I think he did enough to let Arsenal make a judgment on him.
Ødegaard’s technique is probably one of the finest you'll see from a 22-year-old in world football. He’s always neat and crisp with actions. His leadership skills have surely impressed Mikel Arteta and the fans alike. And the pass against Crystal Palace for Gabriel Martinelli’s goal was a fitting tribute to his excellent passing. While his thunderous effort against Olympiacos almost enticed the fans into believing they will finally see Arsenal’s midfield scoring goals. Though Mohammed Elneny may argue he has a large contribution in the formation of that belief too.
That’s me done with praising Martin Ødegaard. You know what’s coming next.
My major concern with him is his inability to assert himself in matches. He looks like a passive customer who prefers the safer option rather than a high-risk high reward pass. He will do good against a side that likes to sit back as he’ll have more time on his hand and he’s good at opening up defenses, as seen against Crystal Palace. However, against a side like Manchester City or Liverpool where he might not get enough time on the ball, I highly doubt if he will be able to assert himself as we would like him to.
Arsenal’s immediate objective is to finish in the Top 4, in simpler words, to be better than atleast one of Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea. When it comes to individuals we’re barely competing, meaning we need to bring in players who are better than them. Now, is Ødegaard better Kevin De Bruyne, Mason Mount, Bruno Fernandes, or Roberto Firmino? You may say he’s more talented than some of them but surely his output, from what we have seen, has no competing with the names aforementioned.
Don’t get me wrong, PSG can easily drop £40m on the Norwegian and I won’t claim they have overpaid. However, PSG can still go out and fulfill their other needs with their immense transfer budget. Though, if we drop £40m on Martin Ødegaard I’m not sure we would have enough money left to get a truly world-class creator, which is what we need to compete for a top-four finish next season.
To sum it up, if we have a £200m war chest this summer then I’m more than happy to shell out £40m on Ødegaard, he will be an asset for sure, he’s already settled at Arsenal and the coaching staff seems to like him. However, I highly doubt we have that kind of money available to us. This is why I believe there are better value-for-money options available out there.
