A combination of Coquelin & Cazorla: Meet Arsenal newboy Elneny

Thierry Henry once famously described Francis Coquelin as Arsene Wenger’s police officer. In the combative Frenchman’s absence, the Arsenal rearguard has occasionlly been guilty of some criminal defending but it is unlikely new signing Mohamed Elneny will act as his side’s new law enforcer.

The Arsenal midfield has lost its combative edge since Coquelin, the emerging and unlikely star of 2015, suffered a knee ligament injury against West Brom last month which will keep him out of action until March at the earliest.

Allied to the injury suffered by Santi Cazorla and the nagging doubts surrounding the durability of Aaron Ramsey - not to mention Jack Wilshere who is yet to feature this season - Wenger has moved with uncharacteristic speed and decisiveness to snap up the Egypt international.

Despite his impressive frame and noteworthy levels of stamina, Elneny is unlikely to represent a like-for-like replacement for the much missed Coquelin.

The 23-year-old is capable of playing the anchor man role but is better utilised as an energetic box-to-box midfielder in the 4-2-3-1 system that Wenger has deployed in recent seasons.

Elneny is technically sound, boasts an excellent range of passing and has recently developed into a real threat from outside the penalty area with his long-range shooting. In essence, he is a combination of the two men Arsenal will have to do without for most of the rest of the season.

Whether he possesses the physical attributes necessary to thrive in the Premier League, however, remains to be seen. Unlike Coquelin, he does not have a reputation for ferocious tackling and is more likely to intercept or nick the ball away from opponents rather than thunder into challenges.

Arsenal should be encouraged, however, by the way Elneny has gone from almost total obscurity to forging a successful career at one of Europe’s most overachieving clubs in FC Basel.

The 23-year-old began his career at one of Egypt’s smaller clubs, Al Mokaweloon, but quickly emerged as one of the most exciting talents in Africa and earned a regular place in the national squad under American Bob Bradley.

Basel had been tracking Elneny for some time before reuniting him with his international colleague Mohamed Salah in January 2013 and he subsequently signed a loan deal for the rest of the season after impressing during a training camp.

Elneny quickly established himself as a key member of Murat Yakin’s side and further cemented his position in the team under the former Swiss international’s successor Paulo Sousa, who moved to Fiorentina last summer and attempted to sign his former star midfielder.

It was a move that failed to come to fruition and came back to haunt the former Portugal midfielder after Elneny thundered home the winner in the Europa League clash between the two sides earlier this season.

Dynamo Kiev also expressed an interest in the player earlier this year but it is Arsenal that have won the race to snare Elneny, a player who in many ways represents the archetypal Wenger signing; young, unproven and versatile.

Arsenal have worked their way to the top of the Premier League and have their best chance of claiming the title since 2004.

But with difficult games away to the likes of Manchester City, Tottenham, Liverpool and Stoke on the horizon and an annual injury crisis to contend with, Elneny is likely to have to hit the ground running if they are to end their 12-year wait.

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