Player now ‘very close’ to completing Arsenal move – Will wear number 48, announcement ‘not long in coming’

Anderlecht midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga is now ‘very close’ to joining Arsenal after completing the required quarantine to complete the move.

That’s according to Het Nieuwsblad, who say the official announcement of the move is ‘not long in coming’.

They report that the midfielder has spent the last few days in quarantine as per government guidelines waiting for his move from the Belgian side to be completed.

That is set to happen, with Anderlecht set to pocket €17.5m once the deal has been finalised by then and Arsenal.

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Lokonga has already elected to wear the number 48 shirt for the Gunners, the same number he currently has for Anderlecht, as it’s a reference to the postcode of his hometown Verviers, which is 4800.

He will sign a five-year deal with Arsenal and has already completed the required medical tests on Friday last week.

Once the deal is done, he is set to link up with the first-team squad, although it is felt an upcoming clash with Rangers will come too soon for him to feature.