Arsenal Losing The Plot With Mohamed Elneny

Arsenal’s sole winter signing has gone missing and we have to wonder what exactly Arsene Wenger’s plan was with Mohamed Elneny. Where is he?

Arsenal fans turned on the television to watch their beloved Arsenal take on Southampton and they were greeted with an unpleasant sight. Mathieu Flamini was standing cross armed in the starting eleven intros, right next to Aaron Ramsey, where Francis Coquelin should have been.

But Coquelin was being rested after one game. Fair enough. Better safe than sorry, especially because he picked up a little knock from Kieran Gibbs’ slip-tackle.

Which raised the next viable question. Where was Mohamed Elneny? Arsene Wenger admitted to needing midfield help in December and admitted that he would be busy in the window, yet after four matches, we have seen Elneny just once and Flamini three times. What gives?

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Well, prior to the match, Wenger was very outspoken about how Elneny was not playing the way he wanted. Therefore he was not even in the squad.

“I felt he started a bit cautious and played a bit secure,” he said, as quoted by the Mirror. “He needs to adjust to the power of the game in the Premier League, but this was a good welcome today and certainly he has learned a lot. It will take him some time to adjust to the power side of our game here but his intelligence, mobility and the technical level are good.”

My head is spinning from this comment. If we have to wait for Elneny to adjust to the power of the league, then shouldn’t we have to wait for Flamini too? And if so, can we let Elneny adjust in the game and let Flamini adjust form the bench? Mohamed Elneny had more touches than any Arsenal player against Burnley. He may have took some time to get adjusted, but by the end of the match he looked pretty confident.

Sure his shots were a bit off, but that will come around. He was a force in midfield, he showed a fantastic degree of athleticism and it is clear that he can have an impact on this team. That is more than Flamini can say. Against Southampton, Flamini was bossed around and turned the ball over. While it never led to anything, the turnovers gave the Saints some golden opportunities.

And yet Elneny was sat for being too cautious. What am I missing here?

Flamini is not secure enough as our sole defensive midfielder, yet Elneny is benched for being too secure. So Elneny was bought to be a forward-marauding midfielder like Ramsey? Why exactly would Arsenal need that? I feel like I am asking way too many questions here.