Shortly after completing his move to Arsenal from FC Basel, pictures on the official website showed Mohamed Elneny training with his teammates and some fans were hopeful that he was going to make his long awaited debut against Stoke City at the Britannia.
On match day, there was the surprise news that Mesut Ozil was going to miss the crucial clash with the Potters, so I had the expectation that Arsene Wenger would play Aaron Ramsey in the Ozil role with Mathieu Flamini and Elneny providing an anchor to the midfield.
When the starting lineup was published, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was given a run-out in the middle alongside Ramsey and Flamini, with Elneny watching from the dugout. The game turned out to be an intense battle with chances created by both teams. In the second half, Stoke were on the ascendancy and the Gunners had Petr Cech to thank for keeping the game at bay but when Arsene Wenger saw the need to shore things up at the back, he opted for Calum Chambers instead of Elneny.
So the million pound question is – When will Arsenal’s new signing make his competitive debut for the club? He has already played 27 games for Basel this season, scoring five goals and it is turning out to be his personal best in terms of goals in his fledgling professional career.
Arsenal host Chelsea in the league next week Sunday before hosting Burnley in the FA Cup. I believe that the fans will get to see their new boy in action when the Clarets come visiting. He may or may not get his chance against the defending champions but in all honesty, these are the kind of games you would want to see how the new boy would fare. Mathieu Flamini has served the team with price and valiance but he’s past his peak, and his performances have shown that as well.
Olivier Giroud has also made his opinions known about Elneny,
I’ve trained with him and he’s a good player, very talented but first of all he is a good guy – I think he will settle well into the team. I think he’s basically a box-to-box midfielder, so he can attack and defend, run a lot and has good power and technique. He is quite a complete player.
“It always takes time to adapt to English football because there is a lot of intensity, it is very physical and even tactically [you must get used to it] – but I think Premier League football will suit him well.”
Which is why it would be interesting to see whether he plays the box-to-box role or the holding role. Wenger likes him some versatile players and he has found one in Elneny.
The official site has made an infographic for Elneny and it’s worth a look.
I believe this lad will have a bright future with the club.
Sayonara.
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