Arsenal: Mohamed Elneny The Key To Consistency

Arsenal’s biggest flaw is their lack of consistency. That being said, they may have solved that flaw in a single budget signing, just like Wenger always wanted.

Although the major successes have eluded Arsenal over the past decade, there have been glimpses of sheer brilliance. Consider the tail end of last year, when Arsenal ran rampant to close out the season. The year before that Arsenal led the Premier League for the most days, despite inevitably falling short.

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Going back further, Arsenal could have won the league in 2007/08 but again fell tragically short – a product of Eduardo’s broken leg perhaps.

Even in smaller quantities, Arsenal beat Barcelona, they beat Bayern Munich, they beat Real Madrid (the latter two away from the Emirates). They made it to the Champions League final in 2006.

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Arsenal is always right on the cusp. Or at least they have been lately. The last time Arsenal was truly consistent was at the start of Arsene Wenger’s career, right up until a bit past the Invincible season.

The main difference between then and now isn’t a prolific goal scorer or a stouter defense. It is a consistent, stable midfield. Patrick Vieira and Petit got it started, but even when Petit left, Gilberto was brought on to fill the void. It was a midfield that would not only bruise the opposing attack, they would control play and dominate the flow of the game.

Since that time, Arsenal’s midfield has been a shambolic wreck. Undersized midfielders with no defensive abilities have combined with more undersized midfielders to form a spine that could get bossed by anyone.

That sort of glaring physical weakness can be pegged as the sole proprietor of inconsistency. You can be as technically gifted as you want, but in a physical league like that of England, getting bossed off the ball is commonplace.

However, with yet another sneaky addition, Arsenal may very well have found the man to start to reestablish some midfield control – which would then lead to consistency.

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Francis Coquelin was the first step. A defensive player that wasn’t afraid to do the dirty work. But his partner was never a source of consistency. Santi Cazorla was good but his size started to give way to being pushed off the ball. Aaron Ramsey is a great midfielder but his form fluctuates and he gets caught ahead of the ball. Plus, he is a possession-losing machine.

Mohamed Elneny is none of those things. Coquelin has nothing but good things to say about his midfield mate and it’s easy to see why. Where Coquelin provides the brawn, Elneny provides the control and the attack-igniting ability without the loss of control.

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The partnership is still in its early stages but the initial returns are fantastic. Elneny’s passing is a piece of excellence and while Coquelin doesn’t necessarily have an excess of offensive talent, he doesn’t give the ball away in passing either.