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Arsenal @Arsenal
Introducing your September Player of the Month… ?
? @MatteoGuendouzi ?
Mohamed Elneny’s Arsenal career isn’t necessarily over, even after the midfielder joined Besiktas on a season-long loan in the summer, according to his agent.
Speaking to Time Sport (h/t Goal), Alaa Nazmy explained how Elneny didn’t leave for Turkey thinking his departure would be a permanent one: “(Arsenal manager Unai) Emery didn’t ask for (Elneny’s) departure from Arsenal because of his performance, but (Elneny) demanded to take a chance to develop his performance and return again. It is possible for him to play with Arsenal again and it still remains strong.”
Leaving the door ajar for Elneny to go back to north London comes at a time when the Egypt international is being heavily linked with AC Milan. Nazmy wouldn’t be drawn on links to the Rossoneri, saying: “I can’t talk about the renewal of the Milan negotiations to sign Elneny during the next transfer window.”
However, Nazmy did admit his client was inundated with proposals from around Europe during this summer’s transfer window. He named Milan and Serie A rivals AS Roma as among those who approached the Gunners, as well as Premier League duo Leicester City and West Ham United, along with La Liga outfit Valencia.
It’s quite a lengthy list of suitors for a player who has failed to make a starting spot his own since signing for Arsenal from FC Basel in the winter of 2016.
Elneny has proved he can distribute the ball neatly and with patience, but he has never been the most progressive passer in the Gunners’ squad. Nor has he emerged as the consistent and aggressive ball-winner Arsenal still lack at the base of midfield.
The lack of creative output, coupled with not being a natural enforcer, makes Elneny the odd man out in Arsenal’s midfield ranks. Head coach Unai Emery is content to trust Elneny’s former Basel team-mate Granit Xhaka as a deep-lying playmaker, while 20-year-old Matteo Guendouzi is becoming the terrier-like hunter of possession:
Charles Watts @charles_watts
Matteo Guendouzi has made the 20-man shortlist for the 2019 Golden Boy award. https://t.co/WeJvn9BgLn
Goal @goal
Does Joe Willock have what it takes to fill some very big shoes? ? https://t.co/hcYd1Ln0BP
There are still issues with the partnership, notably Xhaka’s lack of discipline manifested by reckless challenges in dangerous areas of the pitch. Fortunately for Emery, there are other options, including Lucas Torreira.
The Uruguay international has made just four starts in all competitions so far this season, and usually those have been in a role higher up the pitch, rather than as a screen in front of a suspect back four.
Torreira remains committed to winning Emery over, despite his lack of playing time, per Jake Polden of the Daily Mirror: “It’s down to the coach to make those decisions and really I have to respect that. Right now it’s about not giving up.”
Torreira’s struggles to stay in the starting XI aren’t all about positioning, though. Emery has also been encouraged to give time to a batch of promising young players, including 20-year-old Joe Willock:
With Real Madrid loanee Dani Ceballos able to assist Willock in advanced areas, Arsenal’s engine room appears amply stocked at both ends. Emery wants to turn Ceballos’ stay into a permanent one next summer, according to AS (h/t Joe Brophy of the Sun)
It all adds up to there not being many chances for Elneny to get back into the mix with the Gunners. Instead, he would be better served using his loan spell as a platform for encouraging concrete bids from those interested parties, including Milan.
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