The injury to Thomas Partey and Mohammed Elneny means Arsenal are now short of options heading into the final hours of the window with Aston Villa also visiting the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening.
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The fans have been lingering all summer to see the club bring in someone of a higher profile into the Central Defensive Midfield position but having cooled down interest in any midfielder, fans are beginning to switch focus to the positives, which is their impressive start to the season.
Mohammed Elneny was handed a year extension on his contract earlier in the summer to remain with the club until 2023 so that might have also translate to the fact that the club is not looking forward to bringing in anyone for now.
However, even if the Egyptian is a decent backup to Partey, it is obvious Arsenal will need more than just a backup but a competition for Partey in order to become a real contender in the Premier League.
Mohammed Elneny is a different player from Partey in the sense that the former likes to keep things simple while the later is more ambitious.
Asides that, both player are of different level and rather than being a rival for Partey, Elneny is only a back up.
Liverpool’s poor start to the season should be sounding warning to Arteta of what difficulty they might face heading into the season without a new signing now in that department.
Even Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp, who was adamant to the fact that he needs to bring in another midfielder has in the last weekend admitted to his fault and is now working on a new midfield signing.
It is obvious you have to also have quality in depth and Arsenal have done justice in the summer but the Thomas Partey role remains one major concern where they will be real short in quality if Elneny remains the only option.
That is even if Elneny is available to be an option as the length of his injury is still to be known, with reports suggesting it’s not looking good.
Arsenal still plans to bring in new players but priotise the signing of a winger more. But with the latest news of the injury to their two options in the CDM position, Mikel Arteta and Edu will surely be contemplating bringing in someone in that department.
It is a make or break point for Arsenal and having experienced a significant heartbreak in the later days of last season, Arteta and Arsenal will know they are setting themselves up for disaster if a new midfield signing doesn’t come in in the coming hours.
If Arsenal can spend up to £30m in that department this summer, it will be huge boost for their chances in the season with Elneny set to be sidelined for a long term while Sambi Lokonga looks not ready to take up that role.
It will be interesting to see what the club do in the coming hours to fix the situation, knowing lack of activity could end up running what has been brewing at the Emirates.
Author: Kehinde Hassan Afolabi
