Mohamed Elneny has hailed Mesut Ozil as a unique talent after the German finally put pen to paper on a contract extension yesterday.
It’s a huge thing for Arsenal to keep him, especially in the current climate, and the Egyptian midfielder was pleased that a great player and well liked character had committed his future to the club.
Speaking to beIN Sport, he said (via Reddit user EgyptianAhlawyGooner), “When he talked to me today he told me that he signed a new deal with the club and I was very happy that he’s staying at the club.
“Ozil is a very important player on and off the pitch, he’s very useful to us. Off the pitch he’s always joking and always gives you positive energy.
“On the pitch he’s a unique player, a player who finds everything easy to do and you feel like he’s a very unique and important player.
“This will of course give us a bit of stability because all of the players are staying and everyone is focused now.
“Now there is nobody focusing on signing a new contract or leaving, all of us now will be focused on the next part of the season because we know that its an important period for us.”
Elneny did make some headlines with what appeared to be pointed references to former player Alexis Sanchez, so he’s clearly #TeamMesut.
To read what Elneny has to say about Aubameyang’s arrival, check out the rest of the Reddit thread.
And for more on the January window, James from Gunnerblog returns for an epic Arsecast Extra – listen below.
Does he know something about Wilshere’s contract?? Hope so
This…!
I mean seriously what is Mohamed’s best position – defensive mid? center mid? pyramid?
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Yes!!!! As an egyptian i can officially say on behalf of myself that i thoroughly enjoyed the word play.
Walking like an egyptian though….fucking lame. It was never funny. And something really unimaginative people say to egyptians like theyve never heard it before.
Central midfield. Man knows how to dictate the flow of a game, keep the ball moving, has stamina to keep up with the game and position wise he will pop up everywhere he is needed in midfield. And if he is not in a good position will direct players on who to pass to.
Curly haired deep lying defensive ball-recycling metronome. Seriously, he’s been the best we’ve seen him this season the last couple matches in that deepest mid role as a link between defenders and mids. No, he doesn’t have the imposing size. But he’s disciplined, ever-working, determined, and makes those possession focused passes and always makes himself available as an outlet for the defenders. He’s quicker than Xhaka, and makes better decisions on when to commit to a tackle. He seems best suited of our mids to being given a clear assignment and following through on it. I’d keep working him in… Read more »
I agree, and add to that he really is a very humble, hard working, nice and likable human being, and not without talent as some would have us believe, (you don’t break into the arsenal first team and be a regular in your national team without talent)…..I am sure I am not the only one that wants to see this guy succeed at arsenal.
Get voting for Arsenal https://twitter.com/DeludedBrendan/status/959081463160496128
Love this guys attitude. BigMo ?
At this point i think our best midfield pairing is Elneny-Jack. Arsene no farting around please. Put out your best eleven come saturday.
Play two players who pay attention to what the other members of the team are doing around them? That sounds like heresy! Xhaka only.
Actually i do not think a midfield pairing works for this aresnal team, more like three in the middle. With Elneny’s discipline and Wilshere’s ability to get pass the first man it can work to an extent but Wilshere needs to be higher up the pitch which would leave Elneny alone to stop attacks (then we will be saying Elneny cannot defend as he is not so much a tackler but someone who will stay with the guy on the ball keeping him busy until players are back in position).
Thats 1000X better then Xhaka getting outrun or checking off lol
Elneny has a good heart and is a player that is hardworking unfortunately he is NOT premier league material.This require major work as his speed and decision making is slow.Good man for Champions league
His decision making is slow?? He moves the ball more quickly than any player in the side. Precisely why I’d rather he start than Xhaka.
He is as good as or better than Fellani and yaya Toure (given his age) and Sissoko, so while i would say he’s not ideally starting 11 he is definitely capable and a good squad player. Onwards and upwards
Congratulations Eleney… you have just been promoted to Arsenal’s No.1 Defence Midfielder! Please report to the training room immediately where you will be drilled to survive and function as a lone wolf operative deep inside your own half where little to no support can be expected from any off your team mates. Expect to deal with multiple runners been passed onto you by languid play makers and dodgy back passes from your other team mates. Also expect some dodgy forward passes from the keeper and as we wish you all the best in your valiant attempts to play out from… Read more »
Hahaha… Really enjoyed this 😀
lol….can’t honestly say i blame the guy, even I would take a pot shot after watching our sterile pass left, pass right, pass pass, lose the ball iterative routine, over and over again. Honestly, I would!
So is Jack’s contract done?
Hope there is an announcement soon, regarding both Ozil and Wilshere. Amidst all of this buzz about Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan, people seem to have forgotten about our future captain’s contract situation. Announce a new deal for both, and barring Giroud/def/def mid reinforcement it will have been a nearly perfect window
Özil is announced mate
I think they are waiting for Jack’s decision before they announce Ozil. Like that they can announce both at the same time. There’s a lot of potential in this squad. We just desperately need to fix the broken system.
Off topic – This transfer window has gone way better than I expected – so excited we get to see Auba and Ozil play together! But I get the feeling that this window is mostly about getting in (and keeping) quality “marquee” players who can help in the mid-term, rather than balancing the squad for this season. It’s an odd squad in some ways: -Our two main strikers have similar attributes, and we lost Giroud’s directness. How are we going to get the best out of Auba and Laca in the same line-up? -All our best midfielders seem to be… Read more »
Must Auba and Laca be in the same line up…all the time?
I hate to disagree, but I do: we shipped our top 3 scorers from the past few years and brought in one striker who has never played EPL and an out-of-favor midfielder who essentially plays Ozil’s position. we have a horrendous defensive problem and we didn’t address that at ALL – in fact we let Debuchy go, the ONLY back-up to Bellerin. We have no defensive mid – we sold Coquelin, who was the closest thing to it. And while doing all of this, we managed to strengthen 2 rivals, in fact we’re the only top team to have done… Read more »
… it sounds like we mostly agree?!
We totally do! I should have clarified that I only disagreed with the opening line of your post. That’s my bad.
You sir can suck the positiveness out of proton.
We could sign Evans’ and Liuz’s all day long and still our defense would not be organized or drilled properly. I agree we need backup for Bellerin and what we desperately need is that CB who will lead the back line, but until they actually have a sound and practiced plan for defending we needn’t bother really. Same for wingers – no more Giroud, and Laca doesn’t get in there for crosses and won’t win them in the air anyway, what’s the point in wingers? Bellerin and Monreal / Kolasinac provide the width. Hmm. Makes me wonder- maybe the reason… Read more »
well, doesn’t make sense truly, but maybe arsene has a couple of our promising youngsters earmarked for those roles?….that would be a typical arsene move because he likes to nurture young talents, but whether it will work remain to be seen
At a stretch i recon we could go to a 4-4-2 ozil/dat giy left mid jack or ramsey right mid, with laca auba up top. Midfield of elneny xhaka or elneny wish depending on who is rm. Our defence is 3rd thought anyway so might as well go all out attack
Forgot about Henryk yeah justbscrap everyrhing I said
I think the boss sees AMN as potential DM/RB. There’s also Chambers and technically Mustafi who can play at right back
You’re right though, there’s an interesting imbalance in the side with so much to work on. Another thing we’re lacking are true wingers – we have upcoming Reiss Nelson (and no one else…)
Aubameyang signs
Ozil Signs
Mou loses (yea yea we do to, BUT he does too!)
Mkhi signs
James is back
Someone please wake me up, this is all too good to be true.
Whodafak is James, though?
You should listen to the podcasts on Arseblog to find out 😉
According to my source Wilshire is signed and it will be announced next week.
Tell your source it’s Wilshere.
My sauce is worcestershire
I love Mo. Think him coming off against Swansea was ridiculous. I prefer him in the team. He kind of reminds me of Gilberto in the way you don’t really notice what he does until he’s not there anymore.
Down voted for my opinion? YAY!
Cool, I like this game!
it’s the way it works, isn’t it?
The way i see it, people who disagree with your opinion down vote you, while those who agree, up vote you. All pretty simple and fair, really.
I come here to express my opinion (as if anyone cared). I’m not seeking validation of my thoughts nor am I looking to change people’s minds based on my rants.
I like Mr Elneny. He seems like an all-round good fellow.
And seems intelligent and perceptive.
That was a hell of a tackle in the box v Swansea. I like him v much but he commits the heinous crime of shooting at goal from time to time & so won’t get played very often
He’s a Gooner inside
No player wished Giroud goodbye on social media.
So was he a bad egg to like Sanchez?
I think we were pretty unfair to Sanchez thinking he was disliked just based on him not getting goodbye messages by the players.
Just a thought.
Theo just did. I feel sometimes team mates take time to react to the news.
You know theo doesn’t play for us anymore, right?
Maybe they knew Tues that was it. They were able to say goodbye in person. Not really make it a public thing since he maybe didn’t really want to leave but did because he was being pushed out?
“Ozil is a very important player on and off the pitch, he’s very useful to us. Off the pitch he’s always joking and always gives you positive energy.”
To me….that is clearly another poke at Alexis. And he defintely knows what is happening away from the media and fans.
Yeah, ME is clearly delighted Alexis left.
He should be our new media director
Oezil is a top top football player. His vision is second to none. His dribbling, passing skills and technique is sublime. Those who don´t see this (there have been quite a few here on this blog) might like to watch football but they really don´t understand the game.
Frankly I think Elneny has suffered under the defensive clueless non strategy at the Arse.
Brought in a bit recently ( not with any really stable positional instructions) hes actually done very well.
Best / most switched on versus Swansea, ( until subbed off ) and really good versus Chelsea in the semi, especially as he was asked, yep, you got it, to play here there and fucking everywhere. Good luck to him…..I’d like to see more of him in midfield sweeping up, he’s good at it.
Oh , forgot to say………..way better/ more aware than Xhaka
Most big clubs keep referring to a “fantastic four” in their attack. We could have that with mikhi, laca, ozil and PEA. With elneny and wilshere behind them and a stable back four.
Even if we continue to be quite sh*t at defence, maybe the fear of that front four will make our opponents think twice.
I know i am dreaming, wenger will never be that adventurous anymore.
Not since Kolo Toure have we had a player that seemed to be so enthusiastic about just playing football.
Such a boost. Huge names leaving – Theo, Le Coq, Alexis and Giroud. The last two were big blows going to rivals. At very least we retained Ozil. Its the one shining light in the window. The Aubameyang deal and the Mhkitaryan one I am less enamoured with but hopefully they show their potential. I think there’s been a bit of a divide in terms of recruitment this January http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/42897568 On the one hand the pricing shackle are further loosened and we went about spending although it can be argued that Wenger has been doing this anyway for last 4… Read more »
I feel we made the most out of a potentially disastrous situation, so I’m happy. All of our own doing in the first place of course, but then again who really knows wtf is going on upstairs.
OHHH my lord
You were wrong with your Mahrez valuation. He was never going for 40-50M Once Cout when for 150M it was over. Arsenal had no leverage over Leicester lol What are you smoking?
Leicester didn’t have to sell. If a club ins’t motivated to sell then why would they feel obligated to meet your valuation. ie turning down ManC offer of 60-70M More then you said he was worth for Arsenal to get him for. They still turned it down because they did not have to sell!!!! So there is no leverage for Arsenal so stop saying that.
Bit of stability would be nice