The Arsenal star who 'cried when they asked me to stay'

Stuart Telford

• 16 Oct 2023 16:49 BST
• 3 min read

Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny has admitted he was moved to tears when the club handed him a new one-year contract February.

The writing looked to be on the wall for Elneny with his previous contract at the Emirates due to expire in June.

The Egypt midfielder only played five Premier League games before suffering a long-term knee injury, and could only watch on as Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard dominated the central midfield positions as Arsenal finished second last term.

READ: Arsenal believe summer signing could 'explode' like Bellingham at Real Madrid

It was known behind the scenes at Arsenal that Mikel Arteta coveted another player in the position, and they eventually got their man in acquiring Declan Rice from West Ham for £105 million this summer.

But Elneney never fell that far down the pecking order in the Spaniard's thinking, and he gladly signed on when the new deal was put to him.

Elneny: 'one of the happiest days of my life'

"It was one of the happiest days in my life," Elneny told Simon Collings of the Evening Standard. "The way they spoke to me, the way the entire club was happy about this decision, they made me cry this day.

"Arsenal football club, they know I love them 100 per cent, so much. They know I don’t want to leave. I want to stay and finish my career there, 100 per cent."

READ: Arsenal wages: How much does each player earn?

Elneny is now fully recovered, if not match fit, and made the bench for the recent 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur and 4-0 win at Bournemouth.

Turkish giants Galatasaray and Besiktas are among those who have previously been linked with a move for Elneny, who is now valued at €2 million by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm but had a highest ETV of €12.4m in January 2017.

Elneny founded Elneny FC earlier this year, with the stated goal of one day making it to the Premier League. A bold ambition, but it wouldn't be the first time he has upset the odds.