Lokonga, a midfielder who now plays for Sevilla, in a recent interview with Relevo, fondly recalled some of the important coaches he has met in his career, including Arteta, Vieira, Kompany and Nasri, and shared the valuable lessons he has learned from them.
Speaking about his experience working with Arteta, Lokonga said, "Arteta is a very passionate and authentic person, and he's the person I've worked with and learned the most from. He is always there when you need to talk, but on the field he demands the most from you. It's normal to be this demanding when coaching a team like Arsenal - after all, the fans are used to winning." Lokonga also spoke candidly about his not-so-successful time at Arsenal, which was made doubly difficult by being sent out on loan on a number of occasions, but he also learned valuable lessons from it and kept looking forward.
During his time at Crystal Palace, Lokonga played under Vieira. He recalls, "I would always try to talk to all the coaches to find out what they expected from me and try to do my best. I tried hard to take all their advice and implement it in my game. You could say that I am a product of all those conversations. I've learned a lot from coaches like Vieira because they were all very good players before and are now excellent coaches."
Referring to his experience working with Kompany while playing for Anderlecht, Lokonga was full of joy: "I had a great relationship with Kompany and we still keep in touch today. It's really good to have a coach like him, a legend to look after you and give advice. He always said I had to work hard and show my talent every day. I am very grateful to have a coach like Kompany."
In addition, Lokonga expressed his gratitude to Nasri: "Nasri has been very good to me, we have a great relationship. He only stayed for one season, but was always there for me, like a brother. I can always ask him for advice on soccer, decision-making on the field, and how to recover faster to play more games. He helped me a lot and I have nothing but good memories of Nasri."
