Arsenal Target Mohamed Elneny Is Explosive, Exciting...but Not What They Need

Arsenal’s need for January transfer signings has been well-documented, and the fires of optimism in fans’ bellies have been fuelled by Arsene Wenger’s admission that he’ll be “busy,” per BBC Sport, over the next few weeks.

The Frenchman has a history of dipping into the winter market when needs demand it, with Andrei Arshavin and Nacho Monreal both joining the Gunners in the month of January to provide a late boost to their UEFA Champions League qualification hopes.

This time around, though, the implication behind any signing is rather different: Any man acquired in 2016 should be for the express purpose of rounding off a title challenge.

Arsenal enter the year top of the division (on goal difference) and will rarely stumble upon a better chance to etch their name on the Premier League trophy. Manchester United are in turmoil; Manchester City are dreadful away from home and Chelsea are closer to 20th than they are to fourth. Amazingly, the only “stable” opposition challenge comes via Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur.

But all isn’t rosy at the Emirates Stadium. Wenger was besieged by injuries to his midfield in late November and early December, seeing Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin—his preferred starting midfield pair—join Jack Wilshere and Mikel Arteta on the sidelines.

No one can accuse the Gunners of lacking depth by pure numbers, but it is patently obvious a backup to Coquelin—the team’s chief anchor and destroyer—is needed (and has been needed for months).

January is Wenger’s chance to source that player, but it’s not a simple task. The dynamic Cazorla and Coquelin bring is one that greatly benefits this Arsenal side, and while a capable pair of hands is required, they must also be prepared to sit on the bench for the biggest and most important games.

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Mohamed Elneny, it seems, is the man Wenger has plumped for.

According to the Guardian, Arsenal have agreed terms for the 23-year-old in a £7.3 million deal and will soon make him their first January signing.  

The Egyptian, currently plying his trade in Switzerland at Basel, should be vaguely familiar to fans after lining up against Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in Champions League and UEFA Europa League games over the last three years.

It would appear he has been earmarked for the anchor role as, ordinarily, Arsenal have enough to fulfil Cazorla’s more expansive slot. Aaron Ramsey has been performing well since returning from his own ailment, while that also stands as Wilshere’s best position.

So the question on many an Arsenal fan’s lips is: How good is Elneny, and can he fulfil the anchoring requirements in lieu of Coquelin?

The immediate answer is no; he’s not the positionally disciplined, master interceptor that Coquelin represents. Many believed the Frenchman’s initial success was simply down to Arsenal finally employing a defensive midfielder—any defensive midfielder—to plug the hole in the system, but Coquelin has proved he’s not just a product of it; he’s an excellent player in his own right.

Elneny’s strengths are in a different category, chiefly standing as a more box-to-box threat. He’s at his best when surging forward and breaking between the lines, utilising a 100-mph tempo and sniffing out space as a third-man runner. In that specific respect, he’s Ramsey-esque: barrelling forward with great speed and stamina, looking to force errors and bring impetus to the play.

Credit: Teleclub Sport 1

He’s all action, all the time. He never stops, is supremely fit and chases everything down from sideline to sideline. His work ethic is beyond reproach.

In the last year, he’s dialled up a ferocious long shot and now stands capable of piercing the top corner from 25-30 yards—a talent he loves to show off when culminating a burst forward. He’s hardly efficient with his shooting—a penchant for the golazo has perhaps led to him wasting good positions a little too frequently by blazing high and/or wide—but it’s exciting to watch him line one up.

It’s hardly the bio of a player you’d recruit to emulate Coquelin, whose snappy, defensive instincts and front-footed intercepting brings Arsenal the steel and balance required to nip counter-attacks in the bud.

Elneny has played as the deepest midfielder for FC Basel and has carried out the holding role, but it limits his best traits and accentuates those that need coaching. He has the raw enthusiasm, the work rate and the ability to start attacks from deep with raking passes, but from an anticipation perspective, he’s nowhere near Coquelin and doesn’t really fit the anchor role.

Credit: Teleclub

There is something to be said, though, for Elneny’s application, and his fast-tracked rise through the ranks at Basel sparks hope. He’s accelerated through the gears, moving from backup to star midfielder inside two years, and he has shown rapid improvement in most areas. Never content to stay where he is, he’s tacked on new aspects to his game (such as the long shot) and has added them to a growing repertoire.

With coaching, he could become the disciplined Coquelin replacement required, but from a short-term perspective, it’s perhaps not the best move Wenger could have made. For the second half of the 2015-16 season, he’s more likely to be a runner like Ramsey—perhaps buying time for Wilshere to recover in his own time—rather than anchor the formation.

It may be that the club continue to rely on Mathieu Flamini for a little while longer yet.

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