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Arsenal midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga has officially joined Crystal Palace on loan for the rest of the season.

Since making the move to Arsenal, Lokonga has struggled to find regular minutes with the first team. The excellent form of Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka this season has played a huge part and his development is currently stalling due to not playing football.

His performances when being given the chance haven’t been good enough for Mikel Arteta to give him more of a chance in the team and he’s now left the club on loan.

Crystal Palace have officially announced the signing of Lokonga on loan until the end of the season.

Lokonga is still young and has plenty of years ahead of him so it shouldn’t be a permanent goodbye to Arsenal fans.

In the long term, Lokonga could still play a huge part for Arsenal but this loan spell at a fellow Premier League club will be pivotal in deciding his future.

If Lokonga struggles at Palace then Arsenal may consider cutting their losses and offloading Lokonga in the summer, but there’s also a chance he impresses and rejoins the first-team squad next season.