Arsenal signing Albert Sambi Lokonga thanks Vincent Kompany for transfer

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Arsenal new boy Albert Sambi Lokonga has hailed Vincent Kompany as the driving force behind his £16million move to the Emirates.

Lokonga, 21, left Anderlecht to join the Gunners back in June, becoming Mikel Arteta's second signing of the summer transfer window.

The Belgium midfielder, who put pen to paper on a five-year contract in north London, has made an impressive start to his Arsenal career, featuring six times in all competitions and showing plenty of promise.

Arteta was full of praise for his new recruit after their 1-0 win over Norwich earlier this month, revealing that he made a "big effort" to play in the game despite nursing a minor injury.

Lokonga is already showcasing his potential in the Premier League, and the youngster has waxed lyrical about Anderlecht boss Kompany's role in getting him there.

"We had a great relationship, Vinnie and me," he told Belgian publication Sport Foot Magazine.

"He had some players of which he asked for more and I was one of them. In matches, I knew I could not afford to be at the same level as the others.

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"He wanted me always to do more, to carry the team both on the pitch and off it.

"It is thanks to him that I got this transfer. He never let me rest and without him I would not have progressed so much."

When asked to compare the coaching styles of Kompany and Arteta, Lokonga said: "In real life, it's not exactly the same style of coach.

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"Of course, there are a lot of similarities in substance. There is the will to find the free man, to function with short and quick combinations.

"There is also this desire to insist on the smallest details and then, more generally, what their playing philosophy.

"However, in the form and the manner of putting it in place, it is very different.

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"Arteta is closer to his group. He participates in small training games for example, where Vinnie kept more distance.

"This is in no way a reproach, just an observation."

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