‘He decided’: Fabrizio Romano says ‘amazing’ Arsenal player rejected offers from many European clubs
Arsenal star signed a brand new contract at the club this week, but the Egyptian was a wanted man.
That’s according to Fabrizio Romano, who revealed in his daily briefing on Caught Offside’s Substack that clubs from three different countries wanted to sign the midfielder before he penned a new deal at the Emirates.
Fabrizio Romano says many clubs wanted to sign Arsenal’s Mohamed Elneny
Mohamed Elneny is Arsenal‘s longest-serving player at the moment.
The Egyptian joined the Gunners all the way back in January 2016, when Arsene Wenger was still at the club. He has never been a regular for Arsenal, but Elneny has always been a popular figure among his teammates at the Emirates.
However, many believed the ‘amazing‘ 30-year-old would be allowed to leave the club on a free transfer at the end of this season after he picked up a long-term injury earlier this year. Arsenal could’ve decided to let him go, but the North Londoners showed their class by offering him a new deal to give him the support he needs during his recovery.
Elneny, however, could’ve turned that down for an opportunity elsewhere. Romano claims clubs from Spain, Italy and Turkey all approached the Egyptian to sign him, but the midfielder’s priority was always to stay at Arsenal.
Romano said: “Mohamed Elneny has officially signed a new contract at Arsenal until June 2024. Elneny decided to sign a new contract as he loves the club, feels really good at Arsenal and has a great relationship with Mikel Arteta.
“It wasn’t a difficult choice for Elneny, despite interest from clubs around Europe. Elneny had approaches from Italy, Spain and Turkey, but Arsenal was always his priority.”
Our View:
Elneny isn’t expected to return from his injury anytime soon and Arsenal could’ve easily decided to give up on him.
They could’ve just released him in the summer when his contract was up, but they’ve shown incredible class to be by his side when he needs them the most.
“Our way of treating people, our way of living together and what we expect from people is to give the maximum. When it is the other way around and things become difficult, I think the club have to behave in the right way,” Arteta said a few weeks ago while speaking about Elneny (Football London).
It will be interesting to see if Elneny will be able to return from his injury before the end of this season.
