According to Turkish sources, Mohamed Elneny's loan at Besiktas could be cut short soon as the Super Lig side owe the player €1.3m in wages.
While many fans would want Arsenal to offload the 27-year-old as soon as possible, why not give him another opportunity to establish himself as a first-team player at the Emirates?
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Before we start: no one argues Elneny is an unrecognised genius who will be Patrick Vieira's second coming if he returns to Arsenal. We are sure Gilberto Silva went a bit over the top with his comments about the Egyptian.
We are aware that Mo's numbers are average even by Turkish Super Lig standards and he has not proven himself at Arsenal despite given plenty of opportunities by Arsene Wenger. Nevertheless, hear us out.
'Clean slate'
The Egyptian left Arsenal after Unai Emery had told him not to expect many first-team chances this season.
When Mikel Arteta came to Arsenal, he promised that every player will not be judged by their previous failings and achievements. While this pertained to the likes of Granit Xhaka and Mesut Ozil, Arteta's words could also be applied to Mo Elneny.
The Egypt international deserves the clean slate, too, and Arteta could observe him in training before making a final decision on his fate.
Required mentality
The 27-year-old made 89 appearances for Arsenal but most were late-game substitutions. Interestingly, he received 11 bookings in these matches, showing his grit and determination while also making it clear that he is not a good tackler (1.2 successful tackles per game in the Super Lig prove the latter point, too).
Mohamed is ready to sacrifice himself for the good of the team. He has never shone away from hard work which rarely gets noticed by fans and press.
Arsenal famously lack 'cojones' with the latest example of the Gunners crumbling under pressure being the Olympiacos clash. The return of the midfielder could see Arsenal get a player who never gives up and who can transmit his passion to others.
Tactical contribution
As per Arsene Wenger's assessment, the Egypt international's presence on the pitch helps maintaining the team's balance.
"Elneny is a very tactically-useful player. He is very active inside the pitch and what strikes me the most is how he protects his team," the Frenchman said last year.
The Egypt international covers a lot of distance both in offensive and defensive phases, tracking back and closing the space for opposition when the team is out of possession and providing a reliable option in the build-up when the team attacks.
Elneny's passing is predominately horizontal but he safely gets the ball to more creative players. Because of good positioning skills, he is always available as an option to pass the ball to.
With Mikel Arteta favouring a possession-based game based on midfield triangles, Mohamed could blossom at Arsenal as each time you move the ball forward, you need a safe option to send it back.
Here's a quick recap of Elneny's skills:
Elneny can't be called a technically gifted player like Mesut Ozil or Bukayo Saka. His legs are not as fast as those of Nico Pepe or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
However, he is a fighter and, coupled with someone more creative in the midfield, Mohamed could come very useful to Mikel Arteta, especially in instances when Arsenal need to gain an advantage.
If the Egyptian is recognised by the 38-year-old, his contribution would be very different from the anchorman role Unai Emery saw him at (Lucas Torreira is obviously a better option). However, Mo is far from being a finished article at Arsenal. We know that the former boss made many mistakes: could Elneny be another?
Do you agree with our assessment? Should Arteta give Elneny a second chance? Tell us in the comments or use our blogging platform!
