Arsenal could say goodbye to the only remaining player signed by Arsene Wenger. Mohamed Elneny is reportedly interested in a January transfer and could leave the Emirates soon.
Arsenal signed Elneny from Basel for £5 million in January 2016. He will reach his eighth anniversary at the club next month.
He has struggled to get playing time in recent years as injuries have affected his availability. The signings of Thomas Partey, Jorginho and Declan Rice have seen him drop down the pecking order under Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal helped Elneny recover from a serious knee ligament injury. Last February, they rewarded him with a new one-year contract, even though he was under-active and knew he would only be healthy in a few months in this campaign.
Since Elneny has returned to fitness, he has played as many times for Egypt as he has for Arsenal. He will soon travel to the African Cup of Nations but could return after joining a new club.
Fabrizio Romano says that Trabzonspor of Turkey have a concrete interest in the 31-year-old. Beşiktaş and Galatasaray are also monitoring the player, as well as teams from the Saudi Professional League.
His departure would be the last player signed by the legendary former manager Wenger to leave Arsenal. Rob Holding and Granit Xhaka signed for Wenger and left in the summer after long spells in north London.
Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah played under Wenger. But they came through the academy, leaving Elneny as Wenger’s only signing.
Elneny’s departure would leave a hole in Arteta’s squad, more because of his influence off the pitch than on it. Arteta recently said of Elneny: “I’ve always said that he is our glue player, he is the one who brings everyone together and holds everything together, he is a very important player for me in the team and I’m happy to have him.
Elneny should get the green light to transfer in January and he could stay at Arsenal until the summer if he wanted to, as his contract doesn’t expire until 30 June. He has previously stated that he would like to finish his career with the Gunners.
“Arsenal Football Club knows that I love it 100%, so much,” he said. “They know I don’t want to leave. I want to stay and finish my career with them, 100 per cent.”
At some point, Elneny may have no choice but to leave if Arsenal decide not to offer him a new contract this year. His departure would mean the end of the era that Wenger left behind.