Arsenal confident of double transfer u-turn

Mohamed Elneny to Sign New Arsenal Contract

It is not an understatement that Mohamed Elneny, yes, Mohamed Elneny, has changed the course of Arsenal’s season. Should the team secure Champions League football then he will have to be remembered as one of the cornerstones of them achieving it.

Starting just one Premier League game all season, the 29-year-old was brought into the side in a daunting away trip to Chelsea and produced a man-of-the-match performance. His level has not dropped in the three games since then, culminating in another outstanding display of tranquility, progression, stability and security in the victory over Leeds.

With a contract that is due to expire in the summer, David Ornstein of The Athletic reports talks have begun over Elneny (although no sign of a new deal for Nketiah, interestingly) and the club is hopeful an agreement can be found to extend his stay.

Nobody can say he hasn’t deserved it.

Negotiations are only at an early stage – which is understandable given where the focus is – but Arsenal are ‘determined’ to keep hold of him.

Having gigantic Thomas Partey-shaped shoes to fill, Elneny’s professionalism and calmness have been integral to the Gunners seeing games out across this winning run, and while there is no mention of the length of his deal, keeping him on board to remain a squad rotation option for another 12 months is far from a disastrous decision.

Arsenal still want to sign a No. 8 – which it is once again mentioned that Youri Tielemans is top of the list – and if another injury crisis strikes there are far worse options to come in that Elneny. He is someone who is great around the club, content with being third of fourth choice, and is currently playing the best football of his career.

For minimal finance they can keep him on, develop Sambi for another year, and then reassess in the winter or summer following.

A team always needs ‘squad’ players, but few are ever happy playing that role. Elneny has said publicly he’ll stay, whatever the role.

"“I don’t think about leaving,” he told the Independent. “It’s my family for six years. I love this club. If I don’t play I keep going until I get my chance. If Arsenal say ‘we want you’ I don’t think about leaving. It’s my family for six years. I love this club.”"