Arsenal: Joe Aribo the perfect Mohamed Elneny replacement

Arsenal will be looking to cut dead weight in the summer, and Mohamed Elneny falls in that category – so why not replace with someone like Joe Aribo?

Unai Emery’s first summer was all about plugging immediate needs at Arsenal, while his first season was all about figuring out how far his current stock of players could take the club, and who on the team is no longer a necessity.

A lot of players have been pegged as deadwood, and will more than likely be sold in the summer months. That includes Mohamed Elneny.

While the Egyptian’s heart and work rate have always been to die for, his fine-tuning has never really developed, and the rumors that he could be sold for £10m started to sound really good, simply because he wasn’t playing at all, and that was twice the price we paid for him in the first place.

But as with anyone, with a sale, there should be an equal and opposite acquisition, even for someone like Elneny who has barely featured this year.

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There are internal solutions you could turn to – people like Joe Willock, although Willock is shaping up like more of an attacker than the Elneny type. But someone like Charlton’s Joe Aribo definitely fits the billing of a straight central midfielder with killer work rate and, at 22-years-old, a lot of potential to build off.

However, perhaps the most attractive part of a move for Aribo is the fact that he is out of contract at the end of the year, with Charlton not looking to extend the young man, who has been a main stay on their first team, playing 2300 league minutes and contributing to seven goals (six scored, one assisted).

He has the upside that Emery would be looking for in a free signing, and without the transfer fee, he wouldn’t cut into the likely limited summer budget either.

Arsenal’s midfield has been significantly bolstered with the young presence of Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi, but with Aaron Ramsey on the out, Mohamed Elneny also likely to be sold, Ainsley Maitland-Niles settling and right wingback and most youth options favoring attacking roles, there may just be an opening for a young man like Aribo to step into.

At the very least, it’s a free, so it’s not like there’s a lot of pressure attached. He isn’t going to be asked to win a starting role by October, or to play 2500 minutes. He’s just going to get a chance to grow in a top tier side. Can’t beat that.