Arsenal: Mohamed Elneny experiment can finally be laid to rest

Arsenal have been deploying Mohamed Elneny as a centerback, but against Cologne, we may finally be able to lay that experiment to rest.

Arsene Wenger said during the preseason that Mohamed Elneny could be used at centerback for Arsenal and everyone just kind of brushed it off as a “yeah, okay, like that’ll ever happen.” Well, it has happened, and while disasters have been avoided, they have certainly been knocking on the door.

For the record, I was in love with the idea of a midfielder playing centerback behind the two central midfielders. But the prerequisite to that love is having the right midfielder, which we certainly do not have. So until we do, let’s just all bask in the glory of Shkodran Mustafi and the wonderful job he is doing in that role.

Plus, with Mustafi and Calum Chambers both healthy, I’d say it’s time to let Per Mertesacker take Chambers and Rob Holding under his wing in these side competitions and serve as the central swivel while the two young Gunners flank him.

I can think of no better way for them to get experience. Literally, I can’t do it. I’ve been trying all day and come up with nothing.

Mertesacker has already proven how effective he and Holding can be as a unit when they took on Chelsea in the FA Cup Final and defied the entire known world with their effective partnership. It was master and apprentice.

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Well, a master can take on more than one apprentice, not to mention that I’d hardly call Chambers and apprentice.

Each part of my proposed three at the back is a part of the Gunner’s future. Mertesacker as an academy coach, Holding and Chambers as the future centerback pairing of the Three Lions. Invest in this trio rather than an experiment that you don’t even have the right apparatuses for.

Not least of all because I don’t see a future for Elneny at Arsenal. He isn’t good enough and he hasn’t shown the ability to improve on a consistent basis. Chambers has. Holding has. And if we are going to see gains from Elneny, we need to be seeing it at midfield, a position that is wide open for his influence, rather than at defense, where he is blocking some younger players.

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End the experiment. Get back to the future of the club, which involves superior talent, not jerry-rigging a player into a different role that isn’t panning out.

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