Egypt`s midfielder Elneny signs new contract at Arsenal

Baku, February 22, AZERTAC

Egypt’s midfielder Mohamed Elneny has signed a new contract with Arsenal that will run until June 2024, the Premier League club announced on Tuesday, according to ahramonline.

The current contract of the Pharaohs player was due to end next June, but speculation over his future recently intensified after being hit with different injuries since the season start.

“Mo, a hugely respected and experienced member of the squad, is currently our longest-serving player having joined us from Swiss side Basel back in January 2016,” Arsenal said in a statement via their official website.

Elneny, 30, spent the 2019/20 season on loan at Turkish-side Besiktas, and it was speculated in January 2022 that he would return to Turkey, but he remained with Arsenal after signing a one-year contract last May.

During his seven-year spell with the Gunners, Elneny has made 155 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring six goals and assisting 10 times.

“I am so happy, I love this club and our supporters so much and I will give everything to help us be the best we can be, every day I am here.” the Egyptian international was quoted as saying by the club’s official website after the renewal.

“It makes me so proud to have represented this amazing club since 2016. The spirit and togetherness we have in our squad right now is so positive and I am so happy I have extended my contract,” added the midfielder who became Arsenal’s longest-serving player in the current squad after the renewal.

Elneny made his last appearance with the Gunners on 9 January, playing the full 90 minutes and finding the net in his side’s 3-0 win over Oxford United in the FA Cup.

However, he was injured in a training session a few days after the Oxford win, before undergoing a knee surgery that will keep him on the sidelines for a long but unspecified spell.

On 27 August 2022, Elneny has picked up a hamstring injury that kept him out of action for two months.

During the current season, the Egyptian midfielder has made just eight appearances in different competitions, including five in the Premier league.

Elneny, who made his debut with Egypt’s senior football team in 2011, has been a key member in the squad in recent years; guiding the team to finish as runners-up in the 2017 African Cup of Nations. He also helped the Pharaohs to reach the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia to appear for the first time in the prestigious competition since 1990.

Arsenal currently lead the Premier League table with 54 points from 23 matches, two ahead of second-placed Manchester City.