Arsenal: New Mohamed Elneny contract is absolutely earned

Arsenal were ready to transfer Mohamed Elneny just this past summer, but now they are ready to offer him a new deal. This all makes complete sense.

There aren’t many fans out there who rage about just how important Mohamed Elneny is to the Arsenal cause. He isn’t going to change games or make a tremendous impact on anything. Which is partially why he was very near to transferring to Leicester City last summer for twice the fee we paid for him – £10m.

That fell through and, in turn, Elneny fell back into his flow of blending in, but never standing out. Which, in turn, has steadily made him stand out.

It’s quite simple – Arsenal are desperate for consistency, and even if Elneny is not the high-level player that you’d like to see marching into the starting XI on any given matchday, he does one thing incredibly well – he does his thing.

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Elneny is a controller, capable of holding his own in duels and tirelessly romping about the pitch, fighting for every ball. He isn’t going to produce many goals, but does have a clever pass in him. All of these things add up to one major thing – reliability.

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I was not one for holding onto Elneny. I figured we needed more dynamic players than him to serve as competition to the first team regulars. I’m still keeping at least a few toes in that camp. But Elneny is like Danny Welbeck. He may not do the glorious things that the club needs to win, but he is a cog in the machine. When you put him in, the machine runs just as well as it’s baseline. Again, it may not be flashy, but it will be steady and reliable.

Reports are coming in that Elneny may be on the verge of a new deal. Six months ago, I’d be rolling my eyes. Now, I’m smiling. I like Elneny. He plays his heart out and will never be criticized for not giving his all for the team.

He’s even had a few spikes in his production where he came out looking damn good, rather than just his usual consistent. But those performances aren’t why he has earned a new deal. It’s his steady, controlling, often boring performances that have earned him a new deal.

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I think we’ve all had enough of the ups and downs, thrills and spills, to appreciate one of our few players that is a steady, straight line.