Arsenal vs Stoke City: Keep an eye on Mohamed Elneny

Arsenal finally return to action after two weeks of grueling nothingness, and no one should be focused on more than Mohamed Elneny.

International break is one thing, but forcing Arsenal fans, and many other fans, to sit through two weeks of nothingness is a cruel and unusual punishment, especially for those of us that have to write about them. That said, we are almost there. We are almost back to action, and it’s Stoke City that will be coming up.

Along the lines of nothing happening in these past two weeks, there was one thing that did happen, and that one thing was the somehow-debatable contract extension of Egyptian international Mohamed Elneny.

I, for one, don’t see any possible drawback whatsoever in the deal. But that won’t stop the criticism from coming in. Criticism that I’m sure Elneny saw some of, unfortunately.

Given the stakes of the Premier League (or lack thereof) and the stakes of the Europa League, which continues the following Thursday, I would expect a degree of ‘holding back’ the regular starters, particularly in a midfield with some health questions already.

Meaning that Mohamed Elneny should be out there, with his brand new deal.

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Now, Elneny isn’t the kind of guy that ever leaves anything on the pitch. He gives 100% every single moment of every single game, without question. He isn’t like a lot of Arsenal players that need motivation, or needs a kick in the arse.

That said, if ever there was a reason for Elneny to step up and find another level – which again, I’m not even sure is possible – then this would be it, wouldn’t it?

Which is why I will have one eye glued on Elneny the entire match. Again, assuming he starts.

Elneny isn’t a high-impact kind of player. He is a steady six or seven no matter the circumstance. But he has had matches where he goes above and beyond that usual threshold and manages to impose himself on areas of the game that he isn’t usually impacting – creating chances, for instance.

This has the makings of one of those elite Elneny performances. It will be at home against a fairly dull Stoke City team. Everything is in place.

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And who knows. At just 25 years old, as Arsene Wenger reminded us, Elneny’s best days are still ahead of him. Maybe this can be the start of the next era of Elneny. I wouldn’t count it out.