Arsenal outcast confirms January intentions as rumours intensify
Mohamed Elneny on the fringes
29-year-old Mohamed Elneny has had a curious Arsenal career.
Forever remembered for his incredible goal against Barcelona, he was deemed not good enough and consequently loaned out to Besiktas for the 2019-20 season.
However, Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi’s summer departures on loan left Elneny a backup midfielder by default, and injuries to Thomas Partey meant that he went on to play 41 times for the Gunners last season, 23 of which came in the Premier League.
This season, that has changed. Making just 3 Premier League appearances totalling 54 minutes, he has seen both Sambi Lokonga and Ainsley Maitland-Niles jump ahead of him in the pecking order.
As a consequence, reports of a potential January move away surfaced, with Galatasaray a rumoured destination. However, that seems as though it will not happen.
Elneny confirmed to stay
Now, Elneny’s father has been speaking to the Egyptian press and confirmed in no uncertain terms that his son will be wearing Red and White come the end of the January transfer window.
He revealed:
“Arteta wants Mohamed to stay. He might need him in the coming period so he will remain until the end of the season.”
[Quote via Football.London]
It comes as a blow to the Gunners, who were shown the fragility of their midfield against Liverpool, with Sambi Lokonga having to be replaced by Ainsley Maitland-Niles on the hour mark.
Elneny, for his faults, is a safe pair of hands, but one that Arsenal should be looking to move on if they wish to continue on their trajectory upwards that they appear to be setting out on under their youthful coach.
With his contract up in the summer, and Arsenal in need of financial power in order to try and plot a path to compete with Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea (who between them have beaten Arsenal by an aggregate scoreline of 11-0 this season), his departure seems sensible.
Mikel Arteta, however, clearly feels differently.
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