Arsenal have completed their first signing of the January transfer window in the form of Basel midfielder, Mohamed Elneny.

The deal is reportedly worth £7.4million, and the Egyptian midfielder will be illegible to face Stoke City on Sunday.

Arsene Wenger has recently admitted that Arsenal will be set for a busy January, with numerous players already out injured for a number of weeks. Midfielders Francis Coquelin and Jack Wilshere are both out until February at the earliest, and Santi Cazorla won’t return until the end of the season.

Elneny will provide more cover for Arsenal in central midfield and the Egyptian international could prove to be an exciting signing for the Gunners.

Versatile

A versatile midfielder who runs all day like it is second nature, Elneny will bring more energy to the midfield for Arsenal and is threatening in both defence an attack.

Elneny not only covers a lot of ground, the 23-year-old orchestras the play from the back, being able to ping a pass from to anyone from anywhere on the pitch, it might not be on the level of a Andreas Iniesta or a Steven Gerrard, but the Egyptian rarely misses a pass.

Mohamed Elneny has plenty of experience from his time with FC Basel. | Photo: UEFA
Mohamed Elneny has plenty of experience from his time with FC Basel. | Photo: UEFA

Developed in the same academy as Chelsea winger Mohamed Salah, both players eventually joined Swiss giants FC Basel in 2012, and the duo became important players and fan favourites for the Bebbi.

Had success with Basel

When Salah made the move to Chelsea in January 2014 after he caught the imagination of the London side with his dazzling footwork and trickery, Elneny was tipped to leave the Swiss champions too.

But instead, the midfielder learnt English so he was able to communicate with his teammates better, and since then his overall performance improved massively, and his improvement helped FC Basel win two more Swiss Super Leagues in 2014 and 2015.

Elneny is not a household name yet, but Arsenal should be excited about the potential of their possible new acquisition.

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About the author
Dylan Walsh
Student at the University of Brighton, 20-years-old, Twitter: @dylanwalsh_