Mohamed Elneny

Mohamed Naser Elsayed Elneny (Arabic: محمد ناصر السيد النني‎; born 11 July 1992)[4] is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Arsenal and the Egypt national team.

Mohamed Elneny
Elneny with Egypt at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Mohamed Naser Elsayed Elneny[1]
Date of birth (1992-07-11) 11 July 1992[2]
Place of birth El Mahalla El Kubra, Egypt
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[3]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Arsenal
Number 25
Youth career
1997–2008 Al Ahly
2008–2010 Al Mokawloon
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2013 Al Mokawloon 35 (2)
2013 → Basel (loan) 15 (0)
2013–2016 Basel 76 (5)
2016– Arsenal 58 (0)
2019–2020 → Beşiktaş (loan) 27 (1)
National team‡
2009–2011 Egypt U20 7 (2)
2010–2015 Egypt U23 5 (1)
2011– Egypt 79 (6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:12, 26 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:13, 14 November 2020 (UTC)

Elneny began his senior career in the Egyptian Premier League, before moving to Swiss club Basel in January 2013. He won eight honours at Basel, including the Swiss Super League in each of his four seasons. In January 2016, he was transferred to Arsenal.

Elneny competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics for the Egyptian under-23 team, and played for the senior team at the 2017 and 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, as well as the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Al Mokawloon

Elneny played his youth football with Al Ahly. In 2008, he transferred to Al Mokawloon during the 2010–2011 season. Elneny advanced and became a regular in the starting team. Following the Port Said Stadium disaster in early February 2012, the Egyptian Premier League was stopped and all subsequent matches of the 2011–12 Egyptian Premier League were postponed. On 10 March 2012, the Egyptian Football Association announced their decision to cancel the remainder of the season.[5]

Basel
Elneny with Basel in 2013

FC Basel had been watching Elneny for some time and invited him to their training camp in Estepona from 14 to 24 January 2013. Elneny played his unofficial debut on 18 January 2013 during the friendly match against Steaua București, a 1–1 draw. Elneny was able to impress Basel's trainer Murat Yakin during the training camp and on 29 January 2013, it was announced that he had signed a loan contract with Basel up until the end of June 2013.[6][7][8] Elneny played his official debut for Basel in the 2012–13 Swiss Super League season on 10 February 2013 in the 3–0 home win against Sion as he was substituted in at half time.

At the end of the Swiss Super League season 2012–13 Elneny won the Championship title[9] and was Swiss Cup runner up with Basel.[10] In the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League Basel advanced as far as the semi-finals, there being matched against the reigning UEFA Champions League holders Chelsea, but they were knocked out, losing both home and away ties, beaten 2–5 on aggregate.[11]

During May 2013 Basel announced that they had taken up the option of signing the Egyptian midfielder on a permanent basis. He signed a four-year contract up-until 30 June 2017.[12] He scored his first goal for Basel, the last goal of the match, in the 4–2 home win at the St. Jakob-Park against Zurich on 16 April 2014.[13] At the end of the 2013–14 Super League season Elneny won the league championship with Basel.[14] They also reached the final of the 2013–14 Swiss Cup, but were beaten 2–0 by Zürich after extra time. During the 2013–14 Champions League season Basel reached the group stage and finished the group in third position. Thus they qualified for Europa League knockout phase and here they advanced as far as the quarter-finals. In their season 2013–14 Basel played a total of 68 matches (36 Swiss League fixtures, 6 Swiss Cup, 6 Champions League and 10 Europa League and 10 test matches). Elneny totaled 55 appearances, 32 League, 4 Cup, 6 Champions League and 6 Europa League as well 7 in the test games.[15] He scored just that one goal in the league.

The season 2014–15 was a very successful one for Elneny and FC Basel. The championship was won for the sixth time in a row that season[16] and in the 2014–15 Swiss Cup they reached the final. But for the third season in a row, they finished as runners-up, losing 0–3 to FC Sion in the final. Basel entered the Champions League in the group stage and reached the knockout phase as on 9 December 2014 they managed a 1–1 draw at Anfield against Liverpool.[17] But then Basel then lost to Porto in the Round of 16. Basel played a total of 65 matches (36 Swiss League fixtures, 6 Swiss Cup, 8 Champions League and 15 test matches). Under manager Paulo Sousa Elneny totaled 51 appearances, 29 in the Super League, 6 in the Cup and 7 in the Champions League, as well 9 in test games. He scored 5 goals in these matches.[18]

Despite the fact that Elneny left the club during the winter break, under their new trainer Urs Fischer Basel won the Swiss Super League championship at the end of the 2015–16 Super League season. For Elneny it was the fourth title, for the club it was the seventh in a row and their 19th championship title in total.[19]

Arsenal
Elneny playing for Arsenal in 2016

On 13 January 2016, after a 3–3 draw against Liverpool, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger confirmed the signing of Elneny from FC Basel.[20] The following day, the transfer was officially confirmed by the club for an undisclosed fee reported to be somewhere between £5 million and £7.4 million.[21][22] He was assigned the number 35 shirt for Arsenal.[23] He made his debut for the club in a 2–1 win against Burnley in the fourth round of the FA Cup, on 30 January.[24] Elneny scored his first Arsenal goal in the Champions League Round of 16 second leg defeat against FC Barcelona, and was later awarded Arsenal's Player of the Month award for March. He also starred in April combining well with Aaron Ramsey, winning the Arsenal's Player of the Month award for a second month. Elneny's only goal won him the goal of the season award for Arsenal.[25] In the 2017/18 season, on 7 December 2017, Elneny scored his first goal at the Emirates Stadium (his second for Arsenal overall) in the Europa League Group Stage against FC BATE Borisov in a match which ended 6–0 to the home side.[26] On 15 February, Elneny again produced a commendable display in the first leg of Arsenal's round of 32 Europa league tie against Östersunds FK. Elneny was subsequently rewarded man of the match for his effort in a 3–0 away victory.[27]

On 26 March 2018, Elneny renewed his contract with Arsenal.[28]

On 8 April 2018, Elneny was sent off against Southampton. In a tight game defender Jack Stephens tussled with Jack Wilshere and retaliation from Stephens resulted in referee Andre Marriner giving him a straight red. Wilshere escaped with just a yellow card but in the aftermath, Elneny received a red card after a shove on Cédric Soares. Arsenal held on to win 3–2.[29][30] On 1 November 2020, Elneny put in an excellent display at the base of Arsenal's midfield alongside Thomas Partey to render Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba ineffective and earn Arsenal a first league win at Old Trafford since 2006. Elneny was praised by manager, Mikel Arteta after the game.

While being away with Egypt during the International break in November 2020, it was confirmed by the Egyptian Football Association that Elneny tested positive for COVID-19 but showed no symptoms.[31]

Beşiktaş (loan)

On 31 August 2019, Elneny joined Beşiktaş J.K. on a season-long loan deal with an optional buyout clause.[32]

International career

Elneny helped the National Under-23 team qualify for the 2012 Olympics,[5] where he played in all four games as the team reached the last eight, and were knocked out by Japan.

He was in the Egypt National First Team squad in the Africa Cup of Nations 2017 in Gabon, which came as Runners-up.[33] He also helped the team qualify to the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament in Russia, this is the third time for the Egyptians to participate in the competition after the 1934 and 1990 editions.[34]

Personal life

In July 2019 the body of a man, believed to be a thief attempting to steal electrical cables, was discovered on Elneny's property in El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Egypt. The body was discovered by his father, who immediately reported the incident to the police. It is believed that the man was electrocuted trying to steal the cables.[35]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 26 January 2021[36]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Al Mokawloon Al Arab 2010–11 Egyptian Premier League 21200—00212
2011–12 Egyptian Premier League 14000—00140
Total 35200—00352
Basel 2012–13 Swiss Super League 15030—8[lower-alpha 1]0260
2013–14 32140—12[lower-alpha 2]0481
2014–15 28251—8[lower-alpha 3]0413
2015–16 16221—9[lower-alpha 4]2275
Total 915142—3721429
Arsenal 2015–16 Premier League 11040001[lower-alpha 3]1161
2016–17 14020305[lower-alpha 3]0240
2017–18 130105013[lower-alpha 5]1321
2018–19 8010107[lower-alpha 1]0170
2020–21 12020306[lower-alpha 6]1231
Total 5801001203221123
Beşiktaş (loan) 2019–20 Süper Lig 27130—6[lower-alpha 1]0361
Career total 210826212075432315
  1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, six in UEFA Europa League
  3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, five appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa League
  5. One appearance in FA Community Shield, twelve appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
  6. One appearance in FA Community Shield, five appearances in UEFA Europa League

International
As of match played 14 November 2020[37]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Egypt 201120
2012170
201380
201492
201561
201670
2017112
2018101
201980
202010
Total796
As of match played 14 November 2020. Egypt score listed first, score column indicates score after each Elneny goal.[37]
List of international goals scored by Mohamed Elneny
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
14 June 2014Brisbane Road, London, England Jamaica1–02–2Friendly
210 October 2014Botswana National Stadium, Gaborone, Botswana Botswana1–02–02015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
317 November 2015Borg El Arab Stadium, Alexandria, Egypt Chad1–04–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
45 February 2017Stade d'Angondjé, Libreville, Gabon Cameroon1–01–22017 Africa Cup of Nations
528 March 2017Borg El Arab Stadium, Alexandria, Egypt Togo3–03–0Friendly
68 September 2018Borg El Arab Stadium, Alexandria, Egypt Niger6–06–02019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Basel[6][9][12]

Arsenal

Egypt

References
  1. "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  2. "Mohamed Elneny: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  3. "Mohamed Elneny: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  4. Hamdallah, Abu Bakr (30 December 2016). "قصة صعود "النني".. من شوارع المحلة إلى عاصمة الضباب للمزيد". Tahrir News.
  5. "Egypt's Premier League cancelled". BBC Sport. 10 March 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  6. FC Basel 1893 (2013). "Der Ägypter Mohamed Elneny wechselt leihweise zum FCB" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  7. Mosselhi, Mohamad (2013). "Arab Contractors midfielder Mohamed El-Nenny signs a six-month loan deal with Swiss side Basel". ahram.org.eg. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  8. King Fut (2013). "OFFICIAL: FC Basel sign Mohamed El-Nenny on loan". kingfut.com. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  9. Schifferle, Michael (2013). "Season review: Switzerland". UEFA. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  10. SFV (2013). "Telegramm Schweizer Cup Final" (in German). Schweizerischer Fussballverband. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  11. Haylett, Trevor (2013). "Basel take heart after Chelsea defeat". UEFA. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  12. Elassal, Mahmoud (2013). "Basel take up option to buy Egypt's Elneny". ahramonline. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  13. Marti, Caspar (2014). "Der FCB festigt seine Leaderposition mit einem 4:2 gegen den FCZ". FC Basel 1893. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  14. Grossenbacher, Sacha (2014). "Fotos vom Spiel gegen Lausanne sowie den anschliessenden Feierlichkeiten" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  15. Zindel, Josef (2014). Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2014/2015. FC Basel Marketing AG. ISBN 978-3-7245-2027-6.
  16. Marti, Caspar (2015). "Der Meisterfreitag im bunten Zeitraffer". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 29 May 2015. (in German)
  17. "Liverpool 1 Basel 1". BBC Sport. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  18. Zindel, Josef (2015). Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2015/2016. FC Basel Marketing AG. ISBN 978-3-7245-2050-4.
  19. Marti, Casper (2016). "Es ist vollbracht ! Der FCB ist zum 19. Mal Meister". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  20. "Mohamed Elneny: Arsenal confirm signing from Basel". BBC Sport. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  21. "Mohamed Elneny joins Arsenal". Arsenal F.C. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  22. "Confirmed: Arsenal finally announce signing of midfielder Mohamed Elneny". Daily Express. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  23. "Mohamed Elneny: Player Profile Arsenal". Arsenal F.C. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  24. Flanagan, Chris (30 January 2016). "Why Elneny impressed on debut: 5 things from Arsenal 2–1 Burnley". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  25. "Elneny tops Goal of the Season poll". Arsenal F.C. 22 May 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  26. "Arsenal's Mohamed Elneny pleased with first goal in the Emirates Stadium - Goal.com".
  27. "Ostersunds FK 0–3 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  28. "Mo Elneny signs contract extension". www.arsenal.com.
  29. "Did you see why Mohamed Elneny was sent off against Southampton?". Express. 8 April 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  30. "Arsenal 3–2 Southampton". BBC Sport. 8 April 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  31. "Elneny tests positive for Covid-19". BBC Sport.
  32. "Mohamed Elneny, Beşiktaş'ta" (in Turkish). Beşiktaş J.K. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  33. "2017 AFCON | Egypt". Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  34. "Egypt vs. Congo Lineup". FIFA. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  35. "Mohamed Elneny: Body found at Egypt home of Arsenal midfielder". BBC Sport. 29 July 2019.
  36. "Mohamed Elneny". Soccerway. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  37. Mohamed Elneny at National-Football-Teams.com
  38. McNulty, Phil (27 May 2017). "Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  39. Rostance, Tom (6 August 2017). "Arsenal 1–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  40. Sanders, Emma (29 August 2020). "Arsenal 1–1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  41. McNulty, Phil (25 February 2018). "Arsenal 0–3 Manchester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  42. Bevan, Chris (29 May 2019). "Chelsea 4–1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  43. Amy Lofthouse (5 February 2017). "Egypt 1–2 Cameroon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.