Mikel Arteta celebrates during Arsenal’s victory over Leeds (Photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Arsenal exiles Albert Sambi Roconga and Fabio Vieira joined German club Hamburg this summer.
Neither player has a future at the North London Club. It makes sense for them to move on. According to Graeme Bailey, Lokonga will be permanently involved in the German club, while Vieira will be taking on the loan with a purchase option.
Lokonga and Vieira needed a new start
It will be interesting to see if they can now get their careers back on track with regular German football. Arsenal had plenty of stock in the midfield division and would have struggled to provide regular opportunities for the two players. It makes sense for two players to move on, allowing them to play more frequently.
They have technical attributes that do well in Germany, and that has not yet seen how the situation develops. Meanwhile, Arsenal will be happy to kick the two players out of the book. They were very active in the transfer market and now they are balancing their books. Remove fringe players is just as important as signing a quality player.
Arsenal needs to remove fringe players
Arsenal has been on track in the transfer window this summer, offering a large portion of their weaknesses. It will be interesting to see if they perform at a high level and will eventually win a league title this season. There is no doubt that they have the quality freely.
Meanwhile, the two midfielders are so many at the peak of their strength that they will try to fulfill their potential with regular opportunities in the upcoming season. It remains to be seen whether they will be able to perform at a high level and establish themselves as the main players of the German club.