Arsenal Plotting Ambitious Swap Deal For In-form Serie A Star: Right Man For Arteta?

Arsenal are reportedly planning to use Albert Sambi Lokonga as a makeweight in a deal for Lazio star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

Sambi Lokonga has failed to acclimatize to the demands of Premier League football since arriving at the Emirates Stadium from Anderlecht in the summer of 2021. As a result, he has been vocal in the past week about the prospect of seeking a move away from the Gunners at some point for regular playing time.

According to Calciomercato, Arsenal are considering a mega-money offer for Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. The report adds that the north London giants could go in with a bid of around £60m, plus include Albert Sambi Lokonga, who is valued around the £20m mark, to sweeten the deal.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, 27, has been one of Serie A’s best midfielders in recent years, registering 62 goals and a further 58 assists in over 300 appearances for Lazio. He has been in superb form for Lazio so far this term, scoring four goals and setting up a further seven in 15 appearances. However, the Serbian midfield powerhouse’s contract at the Stadio Olimpico is due to expire in under two years’ time.

Arsenal are among a host of clubs interested in Milinkovic-Savic, whose agent Mateja Kezman, has affirmed that the Lazio star’s contract situation will be addressed after the World Cup.

Arsenal proposing swap deal to sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic

Mikel Arteta is building a solid structure at Arsenal, evident by the club’s progress this season as they sit at the summit of the Premier League after 11 games. He still needs to make significant investment in his squad to go toe-to-toe with clubs such as Man City, Liverpool, Man United and Chelsea.

One area that Arteta must prioritise reinforcing is the midfield, with the Gunners lacking quality depth beyond Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey. Sambi Lokonga arrived at Arsenal with high hopes and expectations from Anderlecht last year, but has been unable to break up the celebrated partnership of Xhaka and Partey in the double pivot.

With Lokonga apparently ready to wave goodbye to Arsenal for regular game time elsewhere, Arteta wants to land Sergej Milinkovic-Savic—one of his top targets—by including him in a deal.

Milinkovic-Savic has been among the standout performers for Lazio in recent seasons, constantly showing his quality in and out of possession. Adding to his other qualities, the fact that he has a hand in 120-goal contributions for Lazio in 309 appearances, it is little surprise then that a host of Europe’s elite want to sign him.

The Serbian would undoubtedly take Arsenal midfield’s quality to another level whilst being a bigger goal threat than Xhaka and Partey, as evidenced by his stats at Lazio. He has plenty of experience playing at the highest level and his leadership skills would be a boon for a relatively young Arsenal side.

If the Gunners can wrap up a deal for around £50million for Milinkovic-Savic with Lokonga going the other way next year, it would represent a fantastic piece of business.