Mikel Arteta is set to land his second new recruit of the summer with Albert Sambi Lokonga set to sign for Arsenal.
Nuno Tavares has already had his transfer from Benfica confirmed, joining the Gunners in a deal worth £6.85m.
Lokonga will usurp that fee and become Arsenal’s biggest of the summer so far, after agreeing a deal in the region of £18m for the Anderlecht midfielder.
It is widely expected that the Belgian will be officially announced before the end of the week, with all details on the deal completed.
Het Nieuwsblad report that Lokonga’s transfer to Arsenal is now ‘very close’ and the player has spent the last few days in quarantine ahead of the deal being formally confirmed.
The 21-year-old will reportedly take the number 48 shirt at Arsenal, which is in reference to his hometown of Verviers.
They add that Lokonga will sign a five-year deal at the Emirates and after completing quarantine will join his new teammates.
It is understood that introduction will take place following Arsenal’s pre-season tour of Scotland. The Gunners were beaten by Hibernian in their first warm-up game and will face Scottish champions Rangers later this week.
Lokonga will instead wait for Arteta’s squad to fly out to the USA where they will participate in the Florida Cup.
It has yet to be determined the role the new signing will take in the Arsenal squad and whether he will have the opportunity of regular minutes.
William Saliba is a perfect example of a player that bosses were happy to splash the cash on, without necessarily requiring him to come into the first-team automatically.
A report from Belgian publication SportMagazine via Sport Witness suggested that Lokonga could be immediately made available to loan, with a temporary move ‘emerging as a hypothesis’.
Meanwhile, Joe Willock is set to become the latest youngster to be loaned out, despite his exploits for Newcastle last season.
Willock ended his spell at Newcastle by scoring in seven consecutive matches and Steve Bruce looks as if he has persuaded Arsenal to allow him to rejoin the Magpies for the upcoming season.
Arteta dropped a hint that he could allow the winger to depart, claiming he would make the most of him “for the time he is here”.
He explained: “Joe is part of our plans, he's our player and in the time that he is here we will try to make the most out of him.
“He had a great experience on loan. He was I think he was one of the most important players for their survival.”
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