Should Elneny start ahead of Ramsey in Arsenal’s first team?

After the disastrous experiment of playing Mohamed Elneny in Arsenal’s back three in pre-season, the Egyptian was moved back into midfield for the Premier League opener against Leicester and was an immediate success with an assist for Lacazette’s debut goal.

There were rumours of a bid from Leicester for Elneny last month, but our Number 35 preferred to stay at the Emirates and fight for his place, and he has yet again confirmed that he has no interest in moving on. As he said after the win over his suitors on Friday. “Winning today was crucial after losing the opening fixture in many encounters during the past seasons,”

“After you win the first game in such style, this gives you such a push to continue the season in a very high spirit after turning tables around.

“It’s good for me to help the team to win and especially to assist a goal in today’s game and give all that you have for Arsenal.

“I consider Arsenal as my home,” added Elneny. “I give all that I have to play in the starting 11 with the team and I’ll always keep improving to keep my spot.

“I am happy with the boss’s confidence in my quality and I hope to deliver my best in all the games.”

It is about time that Wenger gave Elneny a chance to shine in his favoured position as we all know that he would always pick Ramsey when the Welshman is fit. Maybe Wenger is finally realising that he has quality players that should not be on the bench every week. So do you think Elneny diid enough to keep his starting spot?

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30 Comments

  1. Neither player should be in our first 11 if we’re trying to challenge for the title. Both are solid squad players, but we’re not going to win the league with either player as first choice in my opinion.

    1. I say Lets focus on the young gun Reiss Nelson… scored a cracker for under-23’s tonight… get him in the 1st team squad and let him run riot in last 15 minutes if we are already winning plus europa league and League cup…..this kid looks the bees knees and next young un to come through like Iwobi and Bellerin

  2. If ElNeny can improve a bit on his whole game then he could be a great player, he is showing determination to fight for the badge and that is a quality I like, he shouldn’t be overlooked.

    He can tackle, he can shoot from range, he can pass the ball neatly…

    Just needs to be a bit better in each area but that can come from building the partnership with Xhaka.

    1. i agree – furthermore we pretty much know the measure of ramsey in that we’ve seen him at his best 3yrs back but noone is entirely sure what is elneny’s best, accept he seems to be progressing with each game.

      1. one small concern i have with elneny is that when we were 3-2 down it was as if confidence had left his game and he began to back pass when what was needed was to drive forwards. guess its why he was replaced by aaron…

    2. Elneny tries a lot from long range, but he has not a good shot…to me elneny is a hard worker, but he has not talent

  3. Not sure, why some fans can never appreciate the likes of Ramsey and Giroud. Both are class players and can definitely start for any team in Premier league.

    1. Nah, as much as I love ramsey, they are both impact subs, except wenger has the guts to bench ozil for Ramsey and put a nice creative midfielder like Wilshere beside a defensive mode xhaka.
      Ramsey is not built to start attacks, that’s why he loses the ball often and passes sideways most times, he’s a middle man behind a striker, see his first touch header against Leicester…
      And yeah, giroud is a very good super sub other big clubs would want to have as a sub, not in the starting lineup. They both love arsenal, they up the tempo when we are losing and they have the nerves to score against any team unlike ozil
      Since we lost fabregas, no one plays the ball over the top for us frequently, then we lost rosicky that drives through the middle, then we lost super Wilshere that drives through the middle and plays the ball over the top to injury and ref mismanagement, since then we’ve been playing the safe pass to the wing to cross like other EPL teams.
      Thomas lemar would have helped us, he’s an injury free, stronger and better goal scorer than Wilshere but our penny pinching bids made Monaco disinterested. And wenger like he has always done won’t address the issue
      That’s why we no longer score many goals

  4. Elneny should start ahead of Ramsey, because Ramsey has had more than enough opportunities, and fails to impress more often than not. That being said, we still need a huge upgrade on the pair of them as ‘TH14atl’ says.

    The lack of transfer activity is frightening, when you consider how bad we were last season. I don’t think Wenger will sign a central midfielder.

  5. Yes, I think Elneny will get better if he keeps starting. This internal competition would be good for Ramsey and Arsenal.

    But it would be better if Arsenal gets a midfield general that can dictate the tempo and stand out as the example for the other players. Currently Arsenal’s tempo is still too fast (which leads to many mispasses) and there is no clear direction in the field.

  6. I think Elneny and Ramsey are different types of players. I think Ramsey needs to be given the freedom to roam as he is always looking to score but can also make some brilliant passes. I think most of his lack of production has come from him not playing where is best suited and of course too many injuries. Elneny has great energy and while not very physical is a real bother as a defensive midfielder.

    1. But you cant really have Ramaey and Ozil being allowed to roam without a tough midfield General to cover them defensively which we dont currently have all due respect to Coquelin .. I think this is more evident against the mid table and lower teams where we trip bi becasue we get complacent and non stop attack which allows them to counter attack and score.

      1. Great point. For this 3-4-2-1 formation, we need to win the midfield by pressing and hurrying and breaking up opponents. M Elnany shows the desire and energy to press, pass and move to be available for the next pass. A Ramsey is great at showing up in the box with/without the ball from midfield and confuse defenses, score important goals. Sorry Ramsey Elnany is more important to the balance of the team than Ramsey now. Mr. Ozil is only free passenger defensively.

  7. Elneny is a side-ways passer, we need an engine who drives our team forward like santi, Ramsey does well in 4-4-3 formation not in our current formation.

  8. Both players need to learn to play the ball forward, I’m sick of watching our attacks break down because of passing the ball sideways or backwards which eventually leads to us loosing possession in our half . One or both must learn how to retain the ball and drive the team forward . I was delighted to watch Oxelaide Chamberlain take so many shots at goal from distance as we consistently seem to want to walk the ball into the net . A bit more aggression and a lot more communication on the pitch from either player to help be the metronome for the team tempo would be lovely

  9. its called a cornelian dilemma .. and the solution is to buy a quality midfielder … funnily enough named from a french dramatist which our own french drama queen should have heard of … but the yoghurt man clams he is still active in the transfer market so can only wait and prey

  10. We have forgotten who Ramsey.
    A couple+ seasons ago he was the one lifting the club.
    I just wish he gets back to that.
    Before now the Ox was an headless chicken. Now that another team is eyeing him and he has refused a new contract we are singing a different song.

  11. between ramsey and elneny its pretty obvious who should start and its the player who is more assured in possession elneny. others may not agree but aaron seems to be best as an impact sub much like his cohort o.giroud.

  12. Wow did anyone see reiss-Nelson’s second goal tonight?? Magic! Kid should be in the first team without doubt hottest talent to come thru the academy since cole

  13. Why not push rambo more advanced like he plays for wales. He is a goal threat, can compete for a place playing off our striker

    1. you mean replace Ozil behind front two ? Worth a shout if Ozil having an off day.. no player should be immune from being subsitituted if theyre not on top form…. be good to have competition for places
      Bit disappointed Martinez went on loan as I dont think Ospina is world class though he is good and Cech seems to be all over the shop recently pkus cant save a penalty !

      1. yes and as few new comments below, wenger should pick a team to beat who we are playing. top teams ozil is a no show so play ramsey, hard working and goal threat. when play the lesser teams can drop elney and play ramsey deeper so we have an extra goal threat from deep. Its a squad game now and wenger should have the balls to pick a team and leave out big players to get results needed.

  14. I seriously think now is the best time to play OX Tru the middle especially in big games, he’s got the energy,pace,strength and trickery too plus he’s good in both legs,if we use him well he can be our kelvin d’brune

  15. The answer is – both should start. It depends on the opponent. When we are going to play a more aggressive team – one that might control a lot of possession – like a Chelsea or Man City, I think we need a defensive player who can help regain possession and start the counter. Elneny is your choice. When we will likely dominate possession, we need someone who will attack more and help us break down defenses that sit back. Then your starter is Ramsey. It’s not a hard and fast rule, because I think Ramsey will be needed against some of the top teams, too. But I see Elneny as providing a good break for Ramsey, and helping to maintain his health over the course of the year. I would still like another option beyond these 2. It’s my number 1 priority before the transfer window closes.

  16. I think our team is a lot more balanced when Elneny and Xhaka play in midfield. I would like us to sign a CM but if that doesn’t happen then I feel Elneny should play in the bigger games and a lot of away games when we need to be more defensive. Then Ramsey can play as a CM when we are playing park the bus teams. I do think Ramsey’s best position in this system is behind the strikers, like how he plays for Wales, this gives him more freedom. Wouldn’t mind him rotating with Ozil, Ozil has life a bit too comfortable at Arsenal. His place is never under threat despite not being the most consistent player.

  17. Elneny is one of the least creative and one of the poorest midfield players we have ever had. The combination of Xhaka and him was as poor as can be. Ramsey is double the player Elneny can ever be. Trouble is if Ramsey gets injured we don’t have a real alternative, We should sign little Jean Seri or/and William Carvalho. Carvalho can play in any system, little gets past him and he rarely loses the ball. Seri is like a Cazorla/N’golo Kantemixture. Really good player.

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