Blog Archives
Elneny Contract Extension: Good Move for Player and Club
Elneny celebrating his goal against Oxford United
Mohamed Elneny is Arsenal’s longest serving player, having joined the club from FC Basel in January 2016. Elneny has just amassed 155 appearances in his six-and-a-half seasons with the club, winning one FA Cup, two Community Shields as well as being a losing finalist in the 2018 Carabao Cup and 2019 Europa League. In his time with Arsenal, Elneny has never really commanded a first team berth, and as always served as a loyal backup in central midfield, coming to see out games.
However, in recent campaigns, Elneny got an extended run out in the team (41 appearances in 2020/21 season) thanks to Thomas Partey suffering a litany of injuries in his fledgling Arsenal career, which has kept Arsenal fans on the edge in regard to his fitness issues. Despite being a complete model citizen and epitome of consistency in the club, Elneny has had some bad luck this season, suffering a thigh injury in preseason, that saw him miss the early part of the campaign and some important Europa League group stage matches that he would usually feature in. Things went from bad to worse for Elneny when the club confirmed that he had to go under the knife to mitigate a niggling issue on his knee, that would keep him out for a very long time, and clearly beyond this summer when his contract was meant to expire.
With Elneny’s injury challenges, Partey also having an injury scare that has seen him miss matches recently and Albert Sambi Lokonga’s underwhelming form, Arsenal had to make signing a central midfielder a priority, and everyone could attest to the drama surrounding the pursuit of Brighton’s Moises Caicedo, before the Gunners wrapped things up for Chelsea’s Jorginho right at the death.
It has been reported that Arsenal has awarded Mo Elneny a contract extension by an additional year, which will allow the midfield recuperate and rehabilitate from his knee injury using the club’s medical facilities, as well as put up some appearances on the pitch before his final hurrah in the summer of 2024. This is a great gesture from the club, proving that they are willing to stand by their players through difficult times, and it augurs well for Mikel Arteta, who believes that Elneny has a role to play in this exciting project currently brewing at Arsenal.
It is also believed that Elneny reportedly took a pay cut on this extension, which shows how much he wants to be here,
“I’m so happy, I love this club and our supporters so much and I’ll give everything to help us be the best we can be, every day I’m here.”
On being our longest-serving player, Mo added: “It makes me so proud to have represented this amazing club since 2016. The spirit and togetherness we have in our squad right now is so positive and I’m so happy I have extended my contract.”
Elneny has been one of those players that exudes everything we expect from the club, and his extension will not change Arsenal’s long term plans for signing a marquee central midfielder this summer, with West Ham’s Declan Rice heavily linked.
Elneny’s contract extension shows the togetherness within the club, and the players will be happy to have their oldest serving lad around for a little while.
Sayonara.
Follow Gooner Daily on Twitter @goonerdaily.
Visit Gooner Daily’s Facebook page.
Click on the “Follow button” to join Gooner Daily’s Mailing List
Thoughts on Elneny’s Performance at Camp Nou
It was always going to be an uphill task getting any positive result against a side like Barcelona, especially in the wretched run of form the Gunners find themselves in. But like in many Champions League second leg Knockout Phase ties before this, the Gunners went to the away side with nothing to lose after cocking up in the first leg…as usual.
Changes were needed from that aberration of a squad that couldn’t get past Watford at home in the FA Cup, so the manager benched Per Mertesacker, Kieran Gibbs and surprisingly, Francis Coquelin and Joel Campbell. Whether he was ‘resting’ the Costa Rican for the game against Everton remains to be seen, but leaving him out on such a spectacle must have hurt the lad. Remember that he’s yet to sign a new deal and it’s moments like this that would make him think about his importance to the team but hey, that’s his problem.
Alex Iwobi bellied his years to put up a virtuoso performance and his impact was felt when he left the pitch, but my player of the night was the new kid on the block, Mohamed Elneny. I know it took a while for him to get settled in and even get some games with the fading Mathieu Flamini even getting minutes ahead of him when the Coq was still out injured but Aaron Ramsey’s injury setback has paved the way for Elneny to make his mark on the team and boy, have I been impressed.
Yes, his shooting let him down against Watford but at least, he was willing to try but what I really love about the guy is his ability to be everywhere on the pitch and dictate tempo of the game. His passing is high up there with the very best in the team and in yesterday’s game against Barcelona, he covered the most distance with a whopping 12.85 km, according to the stats boys.
With Ramsey still out injured, Elneny will get an extended run out as a box to box midfielder but it’s going to be interesting to see what happens when Santi Cazorla returns in April. His versatility also ensures that he can play the holding role too, so with Coq dipping in form, his place can be threatened by the tarantula haired chap.
I hope I get my 5,000 bucks from Canon Crested as well
Sayonara.
Download the Gooner Daily BlackBerry App to receive notifications on your Smart Phone when a post is published.
Follow Gooner Daily on Twitter @goonerdaily. I’ll follow back
Visit Gooner Daily’s Facebook page.
Click on the “Follow button” to join Gooner Daily’s Mailing List
When Will Mohamed Elneny Make his Debut?
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.
Download the Gooner Daily BlackBerry App to receive notifications on your Smart Phone when a post is published.
Follow Gooner Daily on Twitter @goonerdaily. I’ll follow back
Visit Gooner Daily’s Facebook page.
Click on the “Follow button” to join Gooner Daily’s Mailing List
