In a time of upheaval at the Emirates, one more particular player is set follow Jack Wilshere, Santi Carzola, and Lucas Pérez out of the door in the advent of Unai Emery’s reign in the hot-seat at Arsenal.
Mohamed Elneny is not seen as part of the Spaniard’s immediate plan s as he looks to impose himself at the former Premier League champions and provide some long-due success at the North London club.
The 26 year-old defensive midfielder will move on after just two years at the club, having been bought from Swiss Super League side FC Basel for around £5million in 2016.
Now being deemed surplus to requirements with Emery also being instructed to trim the wage bill of his squad, the Egyptian is set to move to Olympique de Marseille. The transfer window remains open in France until the end of August.
With Elneny’s move to the Ligue 1 side, Arsenal fans will be hoping the time of meek Patrick Vieira replicas arriving at the Emirates is over.
The belief exists amongst many of the Arsenal contingent that new arrivals Uruguayan World Cup star Lucas Torreira and young French talent Mattéo Guendouzi will be able to step up to the plate.
Torreira in particular impressed in a solid campaign with the national team this summer, with his arrival greeted with zeal after sealing his £25million move from Sampdoria; an expensive but not extortionate purchase.
While the Egyptian Elneny hasn’t been without star turns in the red of Arsenal- with The Sportsman quick to praise one of his more recent performances in the Europa League- he has often flattered to deceive, his name on the team-sheet unable to garner a great deal of enthusiasm.
Ultimately Elneny represents yet another failed Arsène Wenger attempt to fill the giant Patrick Vieira-sized hole that has acted as the predominant elephant in the room over the past decade.
In the 12 years since the towering Frenchman left the club, one widely recognised factor for Arsenal’s perceived failure has been the absence of a player of Vieira’s preeminence.
Currently another former Basel player is constantly stirring the ire; the reckless and robust Granit Xhaka. Previously, Mathieu Flamini burned brightly for a season then fizzled out. Alex Song had a topsy-turvy career, eventually ending up at both Barcelona and West Ham after showing initial promise for the Gunners and having two outstanding campaigns in the early 2010s. And two words that will send shivers down Arsenal fans’ spines: Abou Diaby.
Arsenal next play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in a Premier League fixture this Saturday.
