Sambi Lokonga says his conversations with Patrick Vieira encouraged him to swap north London for south London as he completed his loan move to Crystal Palace – watch his first full interview with Palace TV below!
“I’m really excited – I can’t wait to get started,” Lokonga said. “I’m really happy to join Crystal Palace.
“It was not easy [to leave Arsenal] because as you can see they are top of the league, but for me the important thing was the confidence of the coach. I had him on the phone and it was a good opportunity to come here, to show myself and to help the boys reach their objectives.
“He said to me ‘welcome’. He is going to push me to be a better player – I am looking forward to it.”
Lokonga has made 15 appearances for Arsenal this season as they pushed for the Premier League title, and arrives at Palace raring to get back into the thick of the action.
“I would like to gain some minutes – I want to go as far as possible with the team,” he said. “I don’t want to say a number, but I will try to push me and the team to do the maximum to reach the top.
“I don’t want to speak about ranking; I just think we need to take it game by game. Try to win each game and that is how we will do something great.
“Today I have been a lot in the car moving from left to right, but I'm fully fit – I am ready to start if needed on Saturday in the game [against Manchester United].”
The 23-year-old has already played at Selhurst Park this season, for Arsenal on the opening day, and is keen to get back to SE25 to experience the famous atmosphere once again.
“I can’t forget that – I need to mention that,” Lokonga said. “The fans are always pushing the team and it’s good to play at home and to know that the fans are behind you.
“I will try to be myself. I will try to bring the ball forward. I will try to make the job easy for my partners.
“I am looking forward to connecting with the players in the space behind the defence. I want to be myself and bring something new to the team which they don’t have.
“I can’t wait to meet [the Palace fans]. Hopefully you will be behind us for the rest of the season.”
