Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed the signing of Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Elneny from FC Basel, and he could be available to face Stoke on Sunday.
Elneny, 23, has reportedly cost about £5m and is eligible to play in the Champions League.
Speaking after the 3-3 draw at Liverpool, Wenger said: “He has joined us and we will see if he can qualify for Sunday.”
Elneny is a versatile player who could play across the midfield for the Premier League leaders, but it is likely that his arrival is to offer support to Coquelin as an extra defensive midfielder.
He will provide much-needed cover for Arsenal in central midfield, both in the present and the future. The Gunners, often largely stacked with options in midfield are currently without Cazorla, Coquelin and Jack Wilshere due to long-term injuries, while the ageing trio of Mikel Arteta, Mathieu Flamini and Tomasz Rosicky are out of contract and set to leave in the summer.
The former FC Basel player is a typical Arsene Wenger signing, a little known player with great prospect to improve. The French manager has preference for developing young players rather than buying expensive quality players and definitely his latest signing on that conveyor belt has the raw abilities to be a success under the tutelage of Arsene Wenger, and despite being a relatively unknown quantity to most, will hope to follow in the footsteps of defenders Nacho Monreal and Gabriel as a shrewd January signing
Elneny started his playing career at the age of six, when he joined Egyptian club Al Ahly in 1997. To pursue his footballing dream, he and his mother would have to wake up in the early hours of the morning to take a train from El Mahalla to Cairo, before then taking a bus to Al Ahly. They often wouldn’t return back to their hometown until late at night, but this gruelling daily journey helped shape Elneny as a player and a person.
Despite being a starter at youth level throughout his time at Al Ahly, the club decided to terminate the midfielder’s contract in 2008. After this significant blow, he was then offered a chance at El Mokawloon SC, another Egyptian Premier League side, before finally getting his breakthrough when called up to the first team two years later.
Soon Elneny became a regular in the El Mokawloon side, impressing with his consistency and tenacity whenever selected. His profile then began to rise, and at the age of 19 he was called up to the Egyptian Under-23 national team to compete in the London 2012 Olympics, playing in all four games before Egypt were knocked out by Japan in the quarter-finals.
After a ten-day trial during their winter break, Basel announced signing the young midfielder on a six-month loan deal in January 2013, before confirming in May that they had taken up the option of buying the Egyptian permanently after winning the league.
Although usually deployed in a deeper midfield position, where he can dictate the play with his metronomic style, Elneny is equally capable of playing in a variety of roles. He has featured as a box-to-box midfielder for Basel and even put in a few brief stints behind the striker when necessary.
The 23-year-old has become known for his impressive range of passing, in addition to his ability to shoot from distance, with a number of his recent goals coming from outside the box. Elneny has also been Basel’s designated free-kick and corner taker.
But despite being technically accomplished, his stamina and strength in the tackle really set him apart from the rest. He was a standout player in Basel’s Europa League group campaign this season, scoring twice in five appearances, including a thunderbolt in a man-of-the-match performance against Fiorentina. His passing accuracy of 92.4 per cent was the highest at the club by some distance, while he also ranked highly for tackles (2.4 per game) and interceptions (2.0 per game)
However, the premier league is a different sort of animal if you like and Elneny will have to adapt quickly to the pace and tenacity of the games played in England. Hopefully he can find his feet quickly.
