Arsenal are reportedly set to drop a clause in talks to offload a £15m-rated player this summer that will leave supporters furious.
The Gunners are set to offload a number of big names in the coming months, with Emile Smith Rowe already a target for Premier League clubs as Thomas Partey continues to be linked with a move to Saudi Arabia.
For the first time in a few years, a decent amount of money is expected to come into Arsenal via player sales, such is the number of first-team figures who could leave north London this summer, as well as prospects from the academy.
Yet negotiations to sell one player could now leave fans fuming.
Arsenal to drop Sevilla’s obligation to buy clause for Albert Sambi Lokonga
According to Diario de Sevilla, Sevilla have successfully convinced Arsenal to drop an obligation to buy clause in a potential loan deal for Albert Sambi Lokonga, who looks set to join the La Liga side this summer.
The Belgian international joined Arsenal in 2021 for £15m has failed to live up to expectations in north London, though the midfielder impressed greatly last season out on loan with Luton Town, despite their relegation from the Premier League.
READ MORE: Arsenal’s most expensive transfer sales of all-time
As a result of this loan spell, a lot of Arsenal fans expected Lokonga to move on for a good fee this summer, perhaps even making a profit three years on from the 24-year-old’s move to Arsenal from R.S.C. Anderlecht.
However, with news that Sevilla have successfully talked Edu Gaspar into dropping an obligation to buy clause for Lokonga, Arsenal fans will now be preparing to watch another top talent leave the club for pennies, with the midfielder set to join Sevilla before returning in 2025 with a year left on his contract.
Arsenal have to be more ruthless in naming demands for players
Arsenal’s history of selling big players for big prices is as short as Tottenham’s list of trophies in the last 50 years, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s £35m move to Liverpool in 2017 still the most expensive sale the Gunners have pulled off.
And in an era where Mikel Arteta has fundamentally transformed Arsenal into one of the best ran clubs in Europe, the Gunners need to learn to be more ruthless when it comes to setting demands for players who are expected to leave.
Indeed, Arsenal being talked down by Sevilla to drop an obligation to buy clause shows weakness at the negotiation table, and the north London side are yet to fully understand how much power they command when dealing with transfers for their players.
