Mohamed Elneny says he was never interested in leaving Arsenal, despite the fact there were clubs after his signature last summer.
It was widely reported that Leicester had had a bid accepted by the Gunners, but the Egyptian international refused to make a move, preferring instead to stay in London and work hard for a place in the team.
That decision has been rewarded with a new contract signed last month, and a season in which he’s made 25 appearances and become a popular, reliable squad player.
Speaking to the official site, Elneny explained his reasons behind his decision to stay with Arsenal despite offers from elsewhere.
“I heard about this in the news just like everyone else and I was not interested at all,” he said.
“I spoke with the people here at the club and I told them, ‘I don’t want to leave. I want to fight for my position.’
“I trust myself, I have a dream to pursue and I am not going to give up on it. I dream big and this is one of the biggest clubs in the world and I want to stay.
“The club welcomed my decision to stay and that was the end of it. I played the first game of the season in the Community Shield and I proved I can play for Arsenal and will continue to fight for my position.”
You really can’t argue with that kind of attitude. With Granit Xhaka absent through illness, he’s in contention for a start tonight in Moscow and a good performance would cap a positive week in which he’s had a red card overturned.
Go Mo.
Solid squad player. Rarely does anything spectacular, but rarely makes mistakes. The kind of player any squad needs, plus he seems like a decent bloke. Good on him.
He’s still quite young too, people don’t look at mo’s style of midfielder when looking for exceptional potential.
But he could go on to be a proper general. He has all the right base attributes, and is a great guy on top.
I bloody love Mo, he’s a fighter. I think the odds are stacked against him in regards to cementing a starting place in the Arsenal side but I’ve got everything crossed for him.
He could end up being our answer to a Milner type player, doesn’t have exceptional ability but instead an admirable hardworking nature. You have to respect that.
Not a bad comparison. I was actually kinda a sad we didn’t try to pick up Milner. I’ve a soft spot for him pretty much for these reasons.
Still with some hard work and focus it’s not totally unreasonable to hope that Elneny couldn’t become the kind of ‘invisible wall’ we’ve been needing for some time. A little more positional discipline and a bit of work on the darker arts and he’ll the there.
Great attitude, greater hair!
Clear yes, clear no!
I think he’s worth a place in the starting XI. A bit like Arteta, he just keeps the ball moving and his pass completion stats are off the charts. With a run in the team and a bit more confidence he has plenty of room to improve over next few years. GO MO!
Think Arteta had a better vision and superior passing ability but Mo is way more mobile and also quite quick. Great player to have in the squad. You can bring him against anyone and be pretty sure that you get a performance from him.
I agree, I’ve always thought he was a bit like Arteta. However, he’s more switched on defensively and has a great engine.
If Elneny was English he’d be in the national team . He’s versatile and He has a ferocious engine. He is also a tidy player. He has a bit of grit aout him, despite being a nice guy.
He’s unbelievable consistent and has had maybe one bad game for us… I think in central defence in a weakened team. Normal though he’s a 7 or 7.5 week in week out.
Gilberto like
Favourite player at the club. So underrated. Great on the ball and works hard all the time. I’d have him as the holding midfielder and if he was started more consistently you’d see his forward passing improve with th confidence of playing.
As I was saying!
Hail the best 2nd best Mo in England! After Mo Farah.
Mo Salah?
Great player to have in our squad. May he continue to give his all and improve. He got the potential to improve his offensive game, I think. There are times when he will pass and move forward to find space for a one two. I like those moments, and I think maybe he can add a bit more of that to his game. Seems like he has great stamina, too. One our best stamina wise, along with Ramsey.
He actually makes the right runs for the one two but unfortunately the other players more often than not does not give him the return pass.
Elneny is indeed relaible, but I still would prefer to see AMN in Xhaka’s position tonight
Elneny, Monreal… We’ve got some fighters in this team. Let’s finish the job vs CSKA tonight.
Jack is also a fighter. Sead and Welbz too
Jack chose to leave on loan rather than back himself & fight for a squad place. Reeked of entitlement then, and still reflects poorly on him. How we all would have backed him, had he chosen Mo’s path of great resistance..
To be fair, he had been injured for basically 3 seasons straight so I can see why he thought actually playing full games at Bourne would be better than warming the bench for Arsenal. I saw sense in it at the time, it is easy to say with hindsight that he would have been better off staying.
Oh, give it rest.
nice bloke, but I think he will be fighting a loosing battle
Poor comment poor English ie ‘loosing’
He reminds me a bit of Edu. A player that grew into the club and became more important over time.
Surprises me sometimes how people can’t notice the obvious. Love the guy but rarely ever tackles. Show me any stat, video that says different? Can’t believe no one ever mentions that.
His passing ability is at par with Xhaka, what keeps him out is absense of aggression. Needs to add a bit of personality to his game.
I think people forget how young he is (25) and how much development he still has to achieve in his position. So far, he is fantastic and you can see that he always gives 100% whether he starts or comes on from the bench. It took him a little bit of time to adapt but the signs are positive from him.
He’s OK not great. But he has room for improvement.
And he is diligent. Going forward Granit is the better player. He has lapses at the back but has improved.
Neither are complete. We miss the control Santi gave us. That said, if we get the balance right in midfield as a group, we can achieve better things.
But in the summer, we would do well to reinforce this critical area.
Good lad, he’s what every successful squad needs, dependable, versatile, great fitness record, honest professional.
Top bloke, massive engine, excellent attitude and the best hair since Arteta. What’s not to like?
Love this guy.
Arsenal is need player like elneny, player want to fight for his place in starting 11
Great effing pass this evening!
This B/S about being a “Squad” player gets on tits. He is getting better and better every chance he is given and contributes in a real measurable way ie creating goal scoring chances and making decisive blocks. He actually contributed more than Granit Xhaka this season despite playing less than him except scoring goals. If he is good enough, he needs to be given the chance more often. He has got something, plus with his dedication and work ethic he deserves to be rewarded.
My biggest criticism of him thus far has been his lack of aggression in terms of pass selection. However, it does seem like he’s growing in confidence in that respect and is more willing to send threatening balls in for the strikers rather than just circulating the ball laterally. He was good against Moscow.
Still struggling to find anything Xhaka is better than Mo at.