“I didn’t find it difficult but I didn’t like it” - Albert Sambi Lokonga on incident with Arsenal star that went viral online

Arsenal loanee Albert Sambi Lokonga has opened up about an incident involving Eddie Nketiah that did the rounds on social media.

In the "All or Nothing" documentary, the English striker could be spotted asking Lokonga as to whether he was looking glum due to his playing time. Revealing that Nketiah wasn't putting the Luton Town star in his place at the time, Lokonga told The Athletic (via The Boot Room):

"I would still have the same answer now. A player wants to be on the pitch, and if he’s not playing, he is not happy. The other thing was, me and Eddie, we are really, really close. If you look at it back, you can see I was even laughing at the end."

The two players have shared the pitch 26 times across competitions for Arsenal. Lokonga added about the incident:

“I didn’t find it difficult but I didn’t like it. Eddie was looking like the guy who was working hard and I was looking like the guy who was not happy, blaming and moaning. Eddie is my friend. It's more of a thing on social media.”

The Belgian midfielder arrived at the Emirates on a reported £16 million in the summer of 2021. Since then, he's struggled for minutes and has made a total of 39 appearances for the north Londoners across competitions.

However, Lokonga is now impressing in his loan spell with Luton Town. He's started all of his side's last eight matches and could force Mikel Arteta to think about the Belgian's inclusion in the Arsenal squad.

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Rio Ferdinand believes Arsenal can win the UEFA Champions League this season

Rio Ferdinand

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand, meanwhile, believes Arsenal can win the UEFA Champions League this season. According to the ex-defender, only Real Madrid and Manchester City could get in the Gunners' way.

Mikel Arteta's side are preparing for a Round-of-16 first-leg clash against Porto, which is scheduled for Wednesday (February 21). Speaking ahead of this match, Ferdinand said (via Eurosport):

“I think they can go a long way in this tournament. As long as they stay away from Man City and Real Madrid until maybe the semis or finals, I think they can get that far. They’ve got nothing to fear outside those two.”

The north Londoners certainly go into this tie as favorites, having won five league matches on the bounce. They've racked up an impressive 21 goals and have let in just two from these fixtures.