Arsenal legend Ian Wright has told the Premier League club to extend the contract of midfielder Mohamed Elneny.
The 29-year-old Egypt international has struggled for game time under manager Mikel Arteta but since the injury suffered by Ghana international Thomas Partey during their 3-0 defeat against Crystal Palace, he has been making the starting XI.
Against Chelsea, he put up a solid display as Arsenal went on to win the Premier League fixture 4-2 at Stamford Bridge and he showed up with an assist to Granit Xhaka as Arsenal beat rivals Manchester United 3-1 at Emirates Stadium.
With the player showing keen interest to stay at the club, the 58-year-old Wright, who featured for the Gunners between 1991 to 1998 and scored 128 goals from 221 appearances, believes Elneny has proven beyond doubt why he should stay.
“We are talking about players who came on who do a job for their manager with unbelievable professionalism,” Wright told Ringer FC Podcast as quoted by Metro.
“Elneny may be leaving at the end of the season, you look at that performance and the one against Chelsea, and you can only think to yourself that if Arsenal are trying to build a team to get to the top four, you need that back-up player.
“He has to stay. For him to come in in those two games, which were arguably two of the biggest games in Arsenal’s calendar, those are massive games, and for him to come in – the last time he played was December 2 – and play at that level, you have to say hats off to him.”
In a recent interview, Elneny confessed he was keen to extend his stay and was only waiting for the club to engage him.
“If Arsenal say: ‘We want you’, I don’t think about leaving,” the Egyptian said after the Gunners' 3-1 win over Manchester United on Saturday. “It’s my family for six years. I love this club.
“I always love a challenge and give 100 percent all the time. I don’t decide who plays, but I keep going in training to show how good I am and to make him (Arteta) play me. If I don’t play I keep going until I get my chance. The contract and stuff, I’m just waiting for the club to decide what they want.”
Elneny, who joined Arsenal from Swiss outfit Basel in January 2016 has managed nine appearances in the current campaign and accumulated 350 minutes of playing time. He has been selected in the starting XI in three of these appearances across their 33 fixtures and has been mostly used in a substitute role on six occasions.
He played 23 Premier League games last season for Arsenal and scored one goal.