Arsenal: 3 reasons it wouldn’t be awful if Mohamed Elneny stayed

3. Mohamed Elneny is a Squad Option for Arsenal at Best

Elneny is a very, very average footballer. He is unbelievably limited and frequently infuriating. Why on earth would any club want to keep him?

Because he won’t mind being fourth choice. Every squad up and down the country needs a player who will be happy to sit on the bench, soak up some pre-season sun and then, on the rare occasion he’s needed, play the odd minute here and there.

Coming into a campaign where there is no European football and rotation will be minimal in Premier League matches, Elneny will barely play. He won’t be bothered.

If Arsenal can go out and sign four central midfielders this summer then that’s brilliant, Elneny can be sold. That just isn’t going to happen, though.

There will be situations where you need someone off the bench who can come on and do one job very well. Just about the only thing Elneny is capable of is keeping the ball and, in fairness, he does that effectively and without risk. Rarely ever does he give possession away – it helps when you only pass backwards – and as someone to come on and shore things up in midfield he is your man.

The 28-year-old actually forms a very strong partnership with Thomas Partey which has produced some strong results, which while we need to see improved, does bring the best of the Ghanaian. Unfortunately, Elneny is another who will be off the AFCON in the winter, which isn’t ideal, but if he isn’t playing too often anyway it won’t be a huge miss.

Arsenal can absolutely upgrade on Elneny. And if they can, do it. If they can’t among the mountain of other things to do, having a cheerful and fun character behind the scenes who won’t mind being fourth choice isn’t the worst outcome in the world.