Arsene Wenger will definitely have a huge relief as Mohamed Elneny returned to the squad from his national duties after Egypt failed at the final hurdle against Cameroon. The 24-year-old’s absence had left a huge void in the heart of Arsenal’s midfield with their title ambitions suffering a huge blow yet again.
Although many have come to Arsene Wenger’s defence after Arsenal’s recent defeat to Chelsea that has pretty much put them out of the Premier League race, one of the biggest criticisms that the 67-year-old has been facing is his decision of not having extra options in the central midfield like most other teams vying for the title.
Though Arsenal started the season with a plethora of quality central midfielders in the squad, injuries have once again reduced the team to its bare bones in midseason. And for a manager who has been at the club since 1996 and is well acquainted with the familiar occurrence, he remained complacent about getting more options when a realistic chance arrived in the January transfer window.
The Gunners struggled in the midfield at Stamford Bridge where a four-match suspended Xhaka and an injured Aaron Ramsey forced Wenger to play Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the middle in a makeshift setup alongside Francis Coquelin. The duo wasn’t used to playing alongside each other and unsurprisingly, N’Golo Kanté and Nemanja Matic bossed them and the Gunners were second best in that position.
Chelsea’s decision to recall Nathan Ake in January frustrated Arsenal fans even more, who saw their team not putting any such recall clause while loaning Jack Wilshere away to Bournemouth. Arsenal’s first-choice midfielder, Santi Cazorla, is out at least until early March and Coquelin has hardly been at his best so far. Variety could have been a great weapon for Wenger at such a juncture but he has quite naively closed all options for that.
Elneny’s return brings a much-needed composure into Arsenal’s midfield. The midfielder knows how to use his strength and height to the fullest and his technique on the ball has also been highly praised by one and many. His shooting abilities have been the talk of the town as he fired a wonderful goal in the AFCON final against Cameroon.
With Arsenal entering into the knockout stages of the Champions League, his return is nothing short of a blessing for Wenger. His style of play, which involves short passes and holding the ball for players to surge forward, could be tremendously effective. His height makes him another added threat from the set-pieces with the likes of Olivier Giroud, Shkodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny and more.
