Should Arsenal really risk Elneny against Stoke?

Should Elneny really start v Stoke? by JH

So Arsenal finally completed the transfer of our first DM since Lassana Diarra, and today rumours have been rife that he may well start his first game at the Brittania stadium on Sunday.

Whilst I am sure we are all aware of the saying that you haven’t made it in the League until you do it away to Stoke, I still feel throwing him into the deep end on his debut could be something we severely regret.

I will admit to writing this somewhat in ignorance of Elneny’s ability, I do not know how well he can cope with the physical challenge he will face, and although he bossed proceedings vs Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs, Stoke are another proposition entirely.

I would be saying this no matter what league we had bought Elneny from, but how many Stoke-like challenges would he have faced in the Swiss league? Or the Europa league?

Of course I could be saying this for nothing. He may start, who knows he may boss the midfield, but think of the consequences if he doesn’t. If he is overrun in the DM position we are unlikely to beat Stoke, his confidence may be affected, our confidence in him will undoubtedly be shaken.

I know I may be being pessimistic here, but I feel we should start with players that know what to expect from Stoke, hopefully get in a position where we can introduce Elneny relatively risk free.

What do you guys think, Should we save Elneny’s first start for a so called easier side? Or should we throw him in at the deep end and really see how good he is?

By JonnHirons

Tags Elneny Stoke

28 Comments

  1. We NEED ELnenny against stoke! Flamini and Ramsay are a match made in Hell! This game is a must for us so we can’t have flamini in that line up under any circumstance.

        1. @almostawinner I don’t get why you blame the Flame for Arsenal’s woes. He has formed a pretty perfect defensive triangle with his centre backs, and has been shielding and moving opposition attacking play down the wings etc. What he can’t do is be in two places at once. So if the opposition have more in the midfield than Flamini, they can play around him. Ramsey is supposed to fall back and stop the opposition creating the triangles around Flamini, which he use to, but hasn’t since coming back to the mid position. Someone needs to remind him of this part of the box to box game. I suppose that would be down to AW, BFG Arteta as Capt and the Flame who use to shout at people more than he does now.

      1. Ramsey gets a goal and an assist and he’s still criticized. Unbelievable.. Flamini is too old to be as effective as Coquelin who Cazorla was lucky to play alongside. Don’t blame our no16 for not doing a role that he was never intended to play in the first place. He’s an attacker, not a defensive player, that’s the fact.

        1. @goonerlad
          Man this is utter BS. Then why is it that our most attacking player, CF is our 1st line of defense? Aaron got a goal and an assist, but made it possible for 2 to get through. Fair exchange according to you…SMDH

  2. Through him in straight away. He is 23 and of Sanchez and J. Campbell stock. I trust him to pepper Stoke. Sanchez, Campbell, Elneny along with Gabriel (?) will show will make Cesc F. and co. to regret coming to Emirate when they come around.

  3. I hope he does, because as people have already mentioned, Ramsey and Flamini is an awful combination! I know nothing of him, so I am excited to see what he’s all about.

    But I wonder if Elneny will be another Gabriel situation. Perfect player that should be first choice, and in a years time he’ll only have a handful of starts under his belt, whilst others in the same position consistently under perform.

  4. The old hands should start.
    As you say if he plays and
    messes up this would
    badly affect the whole clubs confidence.
    The old doubts could creep back in and
    also inspire other title aspirants.
    We need to show no weakness
    give our competitors zilch.
    Starting him immediately smacks of desperation
    and no faith in the players we have.
    Have him on the bench.
    It gives him belief but time to asses the EPL,
    gives the fans hope, and shows competitors we have a new weapon.
    Also it will challenge the incumbents to perform to retain their place.
    Step by step is the way to go.

      1. I don’t know why most of you guys are talking about Elneny as if he just came out of nappies ?

        He has won more league titles than all of our players put together lol.. He has plenty of international experience,
        To think that he hasn’t been roughed up before is ridiculous, Stoke City have always been known for their Rugby style of play, especially against Us, But that doesn’t mean that all their player’s are all built like Rugby players ? and that they will kick seven ?’s Out of our boys , does it ? ?

        King Fut, where the first to spread the news about Elneny coming to Arsenal and today they shed some light on some on things most of us didn’t know.

        Arsenal had been negotiating with Basel for the last 8 months for Elneny and his transfer fee is said to be more than the reported fee ( £7 million ) the true cost is kept between the two clubs so that Basel don’t get held to ransom when they enter the swiss market to buy players.

        Elneny had received all working permits two weeks ago and in the last ten days, Arsenal sent out a fitness coach to the place where Elneny was staying, So that the player would arrive in a fit enough state to play…
        which is why he is included in the squad to face Stoke.

        Don’t forget that even the experienced Cech had a nightmare start to his Arsenal career ?

        But I am expecting Great things from Elneny and I can’t see no reason why he won’t hit the ground running and become a instant hit with the Arsenal faithful.

  5. Stoke may think twice when they see “EL-neny” on the matchday teamsheet and won’t be certain of what to expect from the Arsenal midfield

    .

    fLamini , they already know about!

  6. Elneny should be started alongside Ramsey. Stoke’s thuggery play maybe too much for the aging Flamini to confront successfully as Ramsey storms forward in search of success for self and club.

    The younger Elneny may just be what we need to stall Stoke’s brutality kind of football to win this game.

  7. nothing speaks against using him in the line up already. and there is somthing else you people need to think about. maybe eleny is not coquelins back up, but rather coquelins partner. when coquelin comes back he will partner eleny in the middle, and wenger will move ramsey on the right wing. i know this sounds crazy but ks-gunner is used to see wenger doing such crazy things, so wait for it in the future to happen. you heard this first on this corner of the internet.

    1. @ks-gunner
      Spot on dude. I said a few posts ago that he looked more like Santi’s replacement and folks lost it.

      1. Exactly!!
        Then its back to Walcott and Giroud fighting for the Striker’s role again…. hence … No striker coming in.
        Infact no other senior signings, maybe a few youths at the most!

        Most of our deadwood are back in training ? Ooops!
        I mean injured. ..?.. Injured and deadwood then ?

        Soon rotation will become a reality, if all goes well and Wenger gets to fight another 4 months hoping that further injuries doesn’t cost him!…( for not signing in the summer)
        Alls well that ends well….. we hope.

  8. Obviously, the only person who can make the judgement call on whether or not to play Elneny at Stoke is Arsene Wenger. Yes, it will be a hard tough game, it always is. Elneny has decent experience at 23 – CL and Europa League. Arsene, if he decides to play him, will make him fully aware of what to expect – as will his team mates. The Boss may well have shown Elneny videos of previous Arsenal visits to Stoke, and possibly previous games at the Emirates, so IF he plays, he’ll be very unlikely to be going into ‘battle’ with his ‘eyes shut’.
    We are short on cover in that position – Stoke won’t be easy, they have that THUG Shawcross, neither will Chelsea, they have that THUG, Costa. Then we have Southampton, Bournemouth, Leicester and Man U coming up in the Premiership, not to mention Barca in the ECL, and Burnley in the FA Cup – they were not exactly shrinking violets when they were in the Premier League a few seasons back. There are NO easy games.
    Whether he plays or not, I believe the boys will put in a tough disciplined performance, and as long as the Referee and Officials put in a good fair shift, I see Arsenal edging it 1 – 0, or maybe 2 – 1, and after the disappointment of dropping 2 points in the 90th minute at Anfield, with our 3 goal difference advantage going into the match, we’ll still be top of the pile on Monday morning.

  9. Our old guards needs rest. Let’s try the new Viera and maybe the old guards will permanently be relegated to the bench. Victory is all that matters. COYG.

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