Lokonga, an Arsenal midfielder, is a “good signing” for Luton, according to TalkSPORT analyst Keown
An international from Belgium will play this season at Kenilworth Road
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown considers midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga’s transfer to Luton on the final day of the transfer window to be a “good signing” for the Hatters.
The 23-year-old transferred to the Emirates in July 2021 for a sum of £15 million, and he later played 39 times for the North London club, including starting each game during the Europa League group stage last season.
A January loan at Crystal Palace that didn’t quite pan out resulted in his return to Arsenal, where he hasn’t played this season, and only one start under Roy Hodgson, who replaced Patrick Vieira.
In an interview with talkSPORT, Keown, who made over 400 appearances while at Arsenal and won the Premier League three times, said: “He certainly wasn’t (a favorite at Arsenal).” The Belgian international will now spend the remainder of the season at Kenilworth Road, bolstering a Town squad that is looking to remain in the top flight.
“Luton spent a tiny sum of money; I worry a little for them.
There is a huge class gap between the clubs that have advanced, so that signing was wise.
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Date confirmed for Luton’s Carabao Cup trip to Exeter as Edwards targets round four
Luton’s Carabao Cup third round trip to League One side Exeter City has been confirmed as taking place on Tuesday, September 26, with a 7.45pm kick-off.
Visiting supporters will have the option to stand or sit on the Hatters’ first visit to St James Park since a 4-1 win in League Two in October 2017, when James Collins, Dan Potts, Danny Hylton and Harry Cornick were all on target.
Town reached this stage of the competition by knocking out League Two Gillingham last week, as after making eight changes, they ran out 3-2 winners thanks to goals from Jacob Brown, Alfie Doughty and Cauley Woodrow.
On the contest itself, asked about taking on a Grecians side who sit top of the third tier, with four wins from their opening six games, Hatters boss Rob Edwards said: “It’s a long journey, I say the same for whoever we play, whether it’s Manchester City away or it’s Exeter away, we’re going to want to try and win.
“We want to try and make the right decisions off the back of it.
“I’ve heard there might be one or two who were questioning the decisions for the starting line-up (against Gillingham) but maybe they didn’t realise we had a game on Friday night (at home to West Ham) and it’s a pretty big game as well.
“So we trusted the squad, and in the end we made the right decision.
“Make some changes, win the game and have some freshness going into a game that has a shorter turnaround than most Championship games where they’re Saturday, Tuesday.
“You’re going Tuesday night to Friday night, the turnaround is really short, so we had to bear that in mind as well.
“I trust the squad that we’ve got, the team that we put out was very strong, but it will be a good game for us and one we’ll be looking to try and win.”
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