Footie Central | Football Blog Blogging the football world
Arsenal central midfielder Mohamed Elneny is set to seal a season long loan move to Beşiktaş after flying to Turkey to agree the deal.
Elneny was one of the players that manager Unai Emery, along with Shkodran Mustafi, told should leave the Gunners before the end of the European transfer window, if they wanted first-team football. Now it looks like an agreement has been reached, with the Super Lig club prepared to cover his Arsenal wages.
The 27-year old Egyptian international joined Arsenal In January 2016 from Swiss side Basel, but, despite signing a new contract in March 2018, he has been left on the fringes since Unai Emery was appointed manager, and he featured just eight times in the Premier League last season. He has not featured in any of the Gunners squads so far this season.
He may not be the only departure from the Emirates in the next few days. Nacho Monreal is close to agreeing a switch back to Spain with Real Sociedad, and Mustafi could also leave.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.