There is no doubt that Arsenal have had a major problem to deal with over the last month or so. Even longer really, because Arsene Wenger has not been able to call on the Spain international Santi Cazorla since the Champions League win over Ludogorets Razgrad in mid October and just about any team in the world would miss the talents of the little magician.
It has been much worse for Arsenal recently though, because the reckless tackle of Granit Xhaka and the harsh red card it brought saw the Swiss international banned for four matches (Man United’s Juan Mata got away with a much worse tackle on Vardy this weekend as did Milner on Moses last week).
We also lost Aaron Ramsey and that meant that the inclusion of Mohamed Elneny in the Egypt national side at the AFCON tournament left the Gunners on the bare bones in central midfield. Now the Egyptian is back though, and a report in the Evening Standard suggests that Elneny could have a big impact for Arsenal.
We could certainly do with someone to steady the ship but will Elneny really make that much of a difference? Wenger will have Xhaka back after the next EPL game against Hull and you would not think we need two defensive midfielders against the Tigers. Perhaps he could replace Coquelin this weekend though, and that would gibe Arsenal an extra edge in the passing and creative parts of our game.
Do you really think Elneny’s return will be a big boost for Arsenal?
Bob.