New signing Albert Sambi Lokonga has been handed the no23 shirt at Arsenal.
The Belgian midfielder has put pen to paper on a long-term contract at Emirates Stadium as Mikel Arteta’s second signing of the summer following the £8.5million arrival of Portuguese defender Nuno Tavares from Benfica earlier in July.
The deal taking Lokonga from Vincent Kompany’s Anderlecht to Arsenal is worth £15m plus add-ons and he will join up with his new team-mates after fulfilling the necessary isolation requirements.
The 21-year-old wears ‘Sambi’ on the back of his shirt and Arsenal confirmed he would don the no23 jersey in north London this season.
That shirt number had only been vacant for a short period following the release of Brazilian centre-back David Luiz at the end of his contract last month.
It has also previously been worn by the likes of Danny Welbeck, Nicklas Bendtner, Andrey Arshavin, Sol Campbell and Ray Parlour.
“Albert is a very intelligent player who has shown great maturity in his performances during his development. He has been coached well by Vincent Kompany and his team at Anderlecht,” said Arsenal boss Arteta.
Tweets by Arsenal“I know Vincent very well and he talks so highly about Albert and the positive impact he had to Anderlecht in recent seasons.
“We’re confident Albert’s ready for the next stage in his development and we’re looking forward to welcoming a new member to our squad with his quality and presence.”
