Paul-Jose M’Poku’s closest brush with a Tottenham Hotspur appearance came in February 2010. The winger, who had joined from Standard Liege as a highly-touted teenager, was named among the substitutes by Harry Redknapp for a 4-0 FA Cup victory over Bolton, yet never set foot on the pitch.
Fast forward a decade and M’Poku found himself back in London as his younger brother Albert Sambi Lokonga completed a move to Arsenal. It brought a taste of Premier League football which had eluded the elder sibling and remained a source of immense pride despite the fierceness of the north London divide.
“I was there as a big brother to advise him like, okay, England is like this, and some of the people that I know in England that can maybe help you to adapt if you ever need anything,” M’Poku told Mirror Football. “I was just there as a big brother. I didn’t really tell him to do anything or to do something.
“If he needed me then he knew I was there. Obviously we went there for the signing and everything and it was I was so happy for me to see him in the Prem.”
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Sambi Lokonga would go on to rack up a half-century of Premier League appearances, split between Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Luton, before sealing a permanent switch to Hamburg in September. Rather than harbouring any resentment over the fierce rivalry, M’Poku viewed his brother’s arrival in England as something of a personal redemption for his own near-miss.
“I always said to him that the place that I didn’t reach you have to reach, what I didn’t win, you have to win,” he said. “So for me, I’m so proud to be his big brother and yeah, yeah, I’m proud of him. Not only as a footballer but as a man.”
M’Poku has played international football for the Democratic Republic of Congo while Sambi Lokonga won two caps for Belgium, the country of his birth. Things have gone differently at club level, too, with the elder brother rejoining boyhood side Standard Liege following his departure from Spurs in 2011 and going on to feature for top-tier sides across Italy, Greece, the UAE, Turkey, South Korea, Romania and Saudi Arabia.
He counts Harry Kane among his Spurs contemporaries, having shared a loan spell at Leyton Orient with the England skipper and fellow academy talent Tom Carroll. While the duo aren’t in frequent contact nowadays, they share mutual acquaintances and M’Poku still has a relationship with Kane’s club boss Vincent Kompany and members of the Belgian’s Bayern Munich backroom team.
The winger, who celebrated his 34th birthday earlier this month, is seeing out the latter stages of his playing days in Baller League. There, he has been competing alongside former Premier League stars and non-league talents in the indoor, small-sided competition.
He continues to monitor his former club, however, and admits Tottenham’s predicament is sad to see as they battle against the drop under Roberto De Zerbi. “One of the things I remember is when we came to Spurs, they were speaking about the vision that they had, about the new academy training Centre and the new stadium,” he said.
“Back in the day I remember the club speaking about how they want to build with young players and be in the Champions League and everything in in the next few years. So I saw it when I left Spurs with the new training ground, with the new stadium. And for me now, seeing the club in that position is a bit sad because… it does mean something went wrong in one moment.”
Spurs make the trip to bottom-placed Wolves this weekend aware that anything short of victory could damage their survival hopes further. Arsenal, by contrast, trail league leaders Manchester City solely on goal difference and could claim top spot this weekend with a home victory over Newcastle.
The campaign could yet conclude with a double celebration for one half of the rivalry, even if certain objectives have shifted since the season’s outset. As M’Poku and Sambi Lokonga have shown, however, some have managed to see beyond the history separating these two storied clubs.
Baller League Season Three is available to watch live on www.youtube.com/@BallerLeagueUK. Tickets for the final four, taking place at The O2 in London on Monday May 25th, shown live on Sky Sports and Baller League’s YouTube, Twitch, TikTok channels, are available to purchase NOW via www.ballerleague.uk and www.theo2.co.uk.
Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package
Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.
Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.
