Despite rumours of a possible move to Turkey, Mohamed Elneny hopes to stay at Arsenal and will look to sign a new deal with the Gunners this summer.
His agent, talking to the Egyptian press, described how “Elneny will renew his contract with Arsenal. He will not leave to Galatasaray.” The 28-year-old has apparently never considered leaving the Gunners and is happy at the Emirates.
Mohamed Elneny Set to Stay at Arsenal With Eyes on a New Deal This Summer
Despite Turkish Interest, the Egyptian Wants to Stay And Fight it Out at Arsenal
Mohamed Elneny joined Arsenal in 2016 for a fee of £5 million from FC Basel. He will have one year remaining on his current deal come the end of the season and is now looking to extend his stay in North London. The prospect of a free transfer to a Turkish side is financially appealing, but it appears Elneny wants to remain at Arsenal beyond next season.
As of yet, no concrete or official talks have taken place. However, Elneny believes he has the full trust of boss Mikel Arteta and in the summer will sit down at the negotiation table and look to extend his contract with the Gunners.
The midfielder fell out of favour at Arsenal last season under Unai Emery. He was sent out on loan to Besiktas and was not expected to stay at Arsenal this season. In part of a huge rebuild for Arsenal, he appeared surplus to requirements. It seemed he had no future at Arsenal, but this season, under Arteta, he’s been given a fresh start.
With Dani Ceballos‘ future at Arsenal undecided and the likes of Joe Willock’s and Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ futures also up in the air, Arsenal may do well to keep hold of the Egyptian and he could save them some money when it comes to further strengthening and rebuilding the squad this summer.
Elneny Excelling this Season
So far, he has made 30 appearances for the Gunners this season, 16 of which have come in the Premier League. He heavily impressed earlier this season alongside Thomas Partey at Old Trafford in the sides 1-0 win over Manchester United. He also scored a crucial goal in his teams Europa League Round of 16 victory away at Olympiacos. Such a goal made the second leg a much more comfortable game in an incredibly important Europa League campaign.
Elneny is said to be a great character around the squad, someone loved by many. Extremely reliable and low maintenance, he appears a great squad member. Arteta feels he can rely on him too, seen through the number of appearances he’s made this campaign.
He has developed a reputation for outstanding long ranged efforts too. Elneny scored a screamer away to Barcelona in the Champions League as his first goal for the Gunners. Since, he has continued to show on a few occasions his striking capabilities. Another example of such was seen this week as Egypt beat Comoros 4-0 in their last AFCON qualifier.
Egypt’s qualification for next years tournament adds to a growing selection and availability headache for Mikel Arteta. The tournament will take place in January. Meaning, Elneny, along with Nicolas Pepe, Thomas Partey and Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will, assuming selection and fitness, be missing for several weeks of the season on international duty.
Arsenal look to be one of the teams most heavily affected by this tournament planning. It is likely to be a difficult period for Arteta and his team next season.
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