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Having bought Declan Rice from West Ham and allegedly being keen on Gremio midfielder Bitello, Arsenal will likely need to thin out their midfield a bit more.

Granit Xhaka haș already left for Bayer Leverkusen, but another casualty of these changes at the Emirates could be Albert Sambi Lokonga.

The Belgian was already out on loan last season, but he seems unlikely to get another chance under Mikel Arteta, which is why, as pointed out by Gazzetta dello Sport, he has been offered around.

One of the teams approached were AS Roma, who are undergoing some changes of their own and targeting Renato Sanches to bolster their midfield.

As an alternative, the Arsenal midfielder was ‘offered’ to the Italians, but his profile is one that ‘has not yet found total approval’ within the Serie A side.

Whether that’s from José Mourinho or others above him isn’t explained, but it appears that Lokonga, if he is to leave Arsenal this summer, will not be going to Rome unless something changes.

The Belgium international spent the second half of the last campaign at Crystal Palace, where he barely played under both Patrick Vieira and Roy Hodgson, totalling nine appearances in all competitions