According to reports in Turkey (relayed by Sport Witness), Besiktas have approached Arsenal with an offer for Mohamed Elneny.
The Egypt international will be out of contract next summer and it’s believed the Gunners could be open to a deal, permanent or loan, before the transfer window in Turkey closes in six days time.
While there’s a risk associated with not replacing the player in the short term, the club is also aware that the 29-year-old won’t be available in January when he heads to the African Cup of Nations.
Elneny is no stranger to Besiktas. He spent the 2019/20 campaign on loan at Vodafone Park making 36 appearances. He seemed destined to leave the club last summer before Mikel Arteta’s head was turned by his performances in pre-season, including in the Community Shield win over Liverpool. The ex-Basel man ended up being a useful squad player featuring 41 times across all competitions.
Behind Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka and Sambi Lokonga in the pecking order and with Arsenal not playing in Europe, Elneny knows there’s a risk he might not get much game time this year. Coupled with our need to raise funds / save cash on wages after a record-spending summer and it’s easy to see why all parties are tempted to do a deal.
Sead Kolasinac – injured by a terrible tackle on international duty last night – and Cedric Soares have also been linked with clubs in Turkey this summer. It’ll be interesting to see if they also get offers.
Failing that, the transfer window is also open, amongst others, in Mauritania, Moldova, Armenia and Burkina Faso. Hopefully, clubs in those countries missed our mauling at Manchester City.
Hate to say it but would be great if he went, however this again highlights how we needed a new CM during the transfer window
Kind of crazy that we spent more money than any other club yet likely only got 2 starters out of it.
The press seem to ignore player fees are amortised and should be considered with wages, so it’s all a bit crazy but the narrative suits.
Besides, most of the money will start – White, Odegaard and Tomiyasu are first team, good chance Ramsdale replaces Leno by Christmas. Sambi has looked great and Tavares was back-up money/ will likely get his chance when Tierney breaks!
Rubbish start to season, but hopefully we effectively see a new team post interlull.
We’ve had one of the highest net spends year after year for almost 7 years now along with comfortably a top 3-5 wage bill for years. That’s not a narrative – we’re consistently starting to spend well past our means. Totally fine if Kroenke’s willing to bankroll it or at some point revenues rise a lot
But “net spend” is a fraction of the story when it’s not being considered on an amortised basis and wages or likely depreciation are being completely ignored. All six signings this summer combined likely get paid about the same as we were paying Ozil this time last year. Other big earners have departed.
It’s like the whole Varane vs White thing. Over 4 years (fee + wages – depreciation) White will cost 67m and still be worth 50m. Varane will cost 100m over same period and depreciate heavily – in reality Varane is by far the more expensive signing.
Do you understand how accounting works though? A player is an asset on our books. Depreciation is simply recognizing the value of that asset declines over time. Take Laca. We paid 50m for him on let’s say a 5 year contract. Each year we write of 10m in depreciation. At the end of the contract Laca has no value from an accounting perspective and his contract is up. White won’t be worth 50m when his contract expires either – depreciation is just a way to spread out that drop vs taking it all at the end. We haven’t been getting… Read more »
2?
Odegaard
White
Tomiyasu
It’s already 3.
..and i believe Ramsdale will be the first choice keeper before the end of the season
+Lokonga can be be easily Partey’s partner soon.
all bogus second rate players–even everton, west ham villa and wolves wouldnt have chosen these players-
we need a revolution—
We’re going through it right now.
They are always ugly …
‘Even’? Says all we need to know.
5 starters.
sambi
MO
White
Ramsdale
Tomiyasu
You may not like them because they aren’t big names but that’s not where we are at the moment as a club. We have been buying names for five years but that’s not we we needed, we needed the total rebuild. Please adjust your seat belts, this will be a bumpy ride as we climb the table.
I said the same thing when we had young Theo, Ramsey, Chamberlain, Wilshere and Gibbs.
we actually did spend on relatively young players during emery era with guys like saliba, martinelli, guendouzi, tierney, pepe, leno, torreira. unfortunately it was arteta that ruined the careers of half of this crop and forced us to sell them off cheap
white is just an updated holding–both shit—shouldv kept saliba
MO- and expensive and worse ESR–waste of 30mil-cant play both
ramsdale-like leno both second or third rate
tomiyasu–we dont have no decent right backs so has to go into the team
sambi- decent-need to see more
The irony of it is that Arteta asked Maitland Niles if he would consider being a CM for Arsenal this season and Ainsley replied, “It has always been my desire to be Arsenal’s target man striker and I’m not about to compromise on my childhood dream”.
As soon as he gets that though he’ll be after the kitman’s job instead…. and then its a case of why dont i get to be the big green dinosaur
AMN featured briefly against west brom in midfield last week and do you remember that game about 3 years ago when he played in midfield against Man utd alongside Xhaka and he was really good. Wenger said after the game that he is “the future”. I have a feeling Arteta is going to play him there. I’d prefer him to Xhaka tbh.
Let’s see what he can do, he will get his opportunity. But the decision is really, do we sell Elneny and play AMN in his place, I’m going to say yes please.
I would like to see him get a fair crack at it. Xhaka should be done after Saturday.
Plus, Southampton away. Think it may have been a League Cup game.
do you remember the game a couple of seasons ago when guendouzi bossed the midfield at old trafford and the united players spent most of the game trying to kick him instead of doing their job? i understand the guys attitude seems to stink and we don’t want that friction right now but i worry he is going to be one we are really going to regret if he grows up a bit. as a midfielder AMN is way off it for me. he didn’t even look impressive in the west brom midfield. connor gallagher looks 10x AMN already and… Read more »
I’d prefer starting with 10 men than Xhaka at this point.
I really hope Mo stays, he is one of the genuine good guys in the squad, provides solid depth and complements Partey and Lokonga quite well if he’s needed and he’s on a very manageable wage. He has workrate and mobility that Xhaka can only dream of and he’s not a walking red card.
Well said.
well it’s then a midfield of Partey with anyone from-Lokonga-AMN-Elneny , are we sending Xhaka to Turkey then?
Stays or goes doesn’t matter. If I had my way he’d be one of the last names on the team list anyway.
Apparently they do like to import Granite in Turkey, so we’re a shot here:
https://flodeal.com/blog/top-12-popular-natural-stones-in-turkey/
my likely forlorn hope is we re-signed him just so we can get a better fee next summer or in january.
ROFL…
he is actually one of the most consistently good passers in europe. not an exciting passer but someone who just keeps things moving really well – a bit like arteta himself when he was with us. i’ve always thought he was massively underrated.
we’ll get little or nothing for it and he is a useful squad player who by all accounts is a good guy in the dressing room. unless he is pushing for a move i would keep him and let him leave on a free at the end of the season if neither side wants to renew.
Hmmm… given Partey is injured a lot and Xhaka suspended there is currently a place for Elneny in the line up.
This offer has come in shit timing.
Had it been before the end of our window I’m sure we’d have entertained it. Not so sure now. I guess it could mean Chambers or AMN in midfield instead which might be alright but it’s not exactly exciting.
Given that after Kola did ok against West Brom B, Arteta felt he deserved to start against Man City, I can see Mo being given the nod against Norwich.
Turkish Liga leaves its window open a week longer deliberately to pray on bloated squads. Refusal to sell might urge them to rethink this strategy but badly organised clubs such ours play right into their hands.
Best solution would be a set deadline in early August across all UEFA
I think it’s good to have a left over league for players who think they are better than their station
To be fair to Elneny I don’t think he’s really like that. Seems quite a humble guy to me.
I’m not against this move if it goes through. The usual people will find a way to moan, but I believe a sale of Elneny may have been part of the reason AMN stayed. The pull of the potential for all Elneny midfield minutes for his boyhood club was too great to resist.
The following midfield options should be enough for a team not in Europe:
Xhaka
Partey
Sambi
AMN
White
Odegaard (I can see him eventually becoming a Kroos type player)
Even Chambers can be an option there pending
That’s a good list indeed. And I think Tomiyasu can also do a job here if needed.
Chambers can play central midfield as well, think he had a season there for Fulham
Would be a great opportunity for Niles, he’s at a good age and level of experience
If we create an opening, then it’s up to Niles to get his head down, work hard, stop sulking, and take his opportunities when they arise
If Xhaka can resurrect his Arsenal career, then so can Niles
When Chambers was with Fulham in the PL, he had the most interceptions in the league as a CDM. They were relegated, and probably on the back foot quite a bit, which helps to explain the stat. Anyway, he’s perhaps better as a CDM than a defender?
i like chambers, but we cannot seriously think about him as a regular starter for us.
was chambers a gooner as a kid or something? it seems strange to me he stays with us season after season without ever looking like becoming a regular. i like him and i like his attitude but he would be better off at a club where he would be starting every week.
we are in the same league as fulham, playing for relegation. Chambers is okay, but not good enough. AMN is a star player compared to Xhaka.
I don’t think it’s wise to list our “best” centre back in there.
True. But it’s more stating that this is an option. If we are getting 4/5 injuries/suspensions requiring White in midfield, then we’re pretty unlucky. But I wouldn’t put it past Arsenal to give it a go.
Chambers can even do a job. Probably a better job than Mo too tbh.
Odegaard actually played much of the second half as the cm, coming deep 2 receive the ball from defenders and progressing it upfield in last night’s game against the Dutch
And if all of the above fail then Mikel knows whats required in that role..
It is sufficient in terms of numbers, but not a lot of creativity there except for Odegaard. Maybe AMN can give us a bit of a chaos factor in midfield and chip in a few goals.
i would like to see odegaard as a number 6 too. i think that is likely where he will end up. right now i would play partey (if he was willing to rein in his ego) as DM with esr to the left and odegaard to the right as no.8’s ahead of him. if partey doesn’t want to do it then elneny is the next best option for a role i think this team needs badly. i wish we had taken bissouma. would happily swap him for partey as i cannot see where partey fits into this team now that… Read more »
Partey’s ego?
If they’re offering us actual money for Elneny, we should take it.
If they’re only offering to take him on loan or as a free transfer, we should also take that.
There’s no point in having a depth player who is miles off the level required.
He’s definitely not “miles off the level” for a squad player, we won away at Old Trafford with him in the starting 11 last season.
For a player that can keep the ball ticking over and what he costs us in wages vs the pittance they’re going to be offering, if they offer anything at all, I don’t really see the point in a sale.
Yeah he’s not good but he’s certainly not awful or anything. Plus I love to see him score the odd banger
Considering he won’t b here in January, it’s best we let him leave
There’s no point in having someone as purely a squad player – i.e. someone who has never been and will never be good enough for the first team. I’ll never understand long-time football fans arguing that a player is good based on one game. Anyone can have a good game. In his many years at Arsenal, Elneny has shown that he isn’t good enough to be trusted to start games. I can guarantee you that there isn’t going to be a game this year – or any year – where we’ll lose points because we didn’t have Elneny available. I… Read more »
Ah those reliable reports from Turkey. About the only thing that makes Football London look like solid journalism.
Besiktas FC has been in touch with AFC for Elneny ( full purchase ) today, but also with Barcelona for Miram Pjanic ( 1 year Loan ) both been agreed in principle… but only 1 is required.
Which one would you go for ????
Miram Pjanic, will arrive in istanbul tonight to be registered for UEFA Champions League squad 👍
Turkish Journalist 😉
A little bit off topic ( or quite much to be honest) , but I saw Odegaard play vs Netherlands yesterday (1-1) in a game a little bit similar to our against MC in team quality. The difference was that the Norwegian team tackled and ran as their lives depended on it plus they got Haaland. Odegaard was on right in a 4-4-2 in first and centrally in a 4-5-1 in second. Good defensively, but invisible on offense in first,more playmaker in second. It’s obvious to me that Arsenal need to keep the ball in the team to get the… Read more »
He seems like a flat track bully kind of player and we need that against teams we should dominate. May need more physicality against bigger sides from that position.
We have needed a flat track bully for a long time. In 2012/13, with Podolski in the team, we got 34 points out of 36 against the bottom six clubs.
I thought he was pretty good in the second half. The gap in talent between Norway and the Netherlands might be similar to Arsenal and Man City, but it’s still not a realistic comparison. That’s because the Dutch team had only a couple of players with the technical ability of most of Man City’s players. Easier to press, tackle, and intercept when you know some of your opponents are weak in possession, will make bad passes when pressed, when only some are making good runs, etc.
No one can tell me that this team isn’t cursed…
This team is cursed.
or… isnt cursed.
I don’t particularly rate him, but we have left ourselves a bit short at CM to let him go. Especially now with Azeez out on loan
Partey
Lokonga
AMN
one of Tomiyasu/White/Chambers maybe
Odegaard deeper perhaps?
would rather not see Xhaka play for us again
But then in reality Xhaka is still probably our 1st pick midfielder, in which case we can do without Elneny
Can we recall Azeez? Probably not.
I don’t know
But if he’s not quite ready for the PL. It’s probably better he gets regular minutes in L1 ironing out some flaws and gaining perspective, than getting a few minutes here and there and maybe struggling
We have a fair bit of positional versatility in our defensive players so we might have to lean on that this year. Maybe we could loan in a CM in Jan
Just can’t see the benefit for us, 2-3 injuries and we’re playing players well out of position or relying on kids. Financially, it’s a drop in the ocean.
From the linked Kolasinac story in the Metro “Arsenal have also been rocked by the news that midfielder Granit Xhaka has tested positive for covid-19 while away with the Switzerland national team.”
We’re hardly rocked, he can’t play for us for a month anyway.
Thank fuck
It sounds ideal but I can’t see that he’d be that keen to go back there as he wasn’t paid and eventually Arsenal had to intervene to make sure he got his money. I think they’re totally skint and he’d be wise to think twice.
Just get rid.
Id say flog Xhaka to Bukino Faso but it wouldnt be fair on the largely unvacinated population thsre
DO IT.
If it’s a real offer I suggest we take it and sell him.
He’s on what, 50k a week? It’s not a lot of money relatively speaking but every little bit helps.
Granted, selling him might leave us a bit short if others get injured, but I think we need a complete reboot and if a player isn’t part of the future of the club, I’d prefer be shorthanded in the near-term rather than to keep such a player.
Burkina Faso! Send them all there please!
AMN as an internal El-Neny replacement?
Then there’s of course the possibility of playing a City style 4-3-3 with Ödegaard and ESR both ahead of Partey. If that’s something Arteta is hoping for then 3 CMs + AMN maybe isn’t that horrible.
Unless chambers white or take can cover as DM then we will be forced to play Xhaka and Lokonga during African Nations Cup.
AMN and Lokonga,
Keep him. He may not be champions league level but neither are we. A good squad player and gives his best every time and will definitely come in useful at some stage this season. Keep him till summer and let him go on a Bosnan with our thanks.
Throw in a curly wurly and he’s yours
Elneny might be a nice bloke and all that, but he’s a plain vanilla squad midfielder and truthfully he would not make the first team or the bench of any top four club. If we have ambitions, we have to be ruthless. Sell. We still have central midfield options; Partey, Lokonga, Xhaka (I know…), AMN… White and Chambers have played there before too.
the biggest problem i see in our squad right now is elneny is the only player willing to do that job of mopping up and moving the ball quickly in front of the defence. i would actually start him and any two others right now. are we going to tell partey at some stage this is what we signed him for?
Really? He just wants to get rid of the ball sideways or backwards as quickly as possible. I don’t think he’s good enough. He wouldn’t get in any other Premiership team……
Promote the starter in that position from the U23….. Charlie patino played today’s friendly but he’s more of an AM I think…those minutes are precious for a youngster..it’s a no brainer! Better than safe sideways passing.
Sell him, he’s shite. AMN, White and Tomi can all play CM if we get desperate and it means we’ll finally get a good number 8 at some point (Bruno at Lyon please)