Arsenal are prepared to sell Mohamed Elneny in January despite handing him the number 4 shirt at the start of the season along with a new contract until 2022.

A report in the S*n claims that Mohamed Elneny is not in Unai Emery’s plans and Arsenal will look to find a buyer for the midfielder ahead of the January transfer window.

The news that the club want to sell Elneny comes as no great surprise. Money for new players is tight and Aaron Ramsey is going to have to be replaced. With him looking like he will leave in the summer for nothing, Arsenal need to collect whatever cash they can from players who bring little to the squad.

That might seem harsh on Elneny who is a solid, dependable 7-out-of-10 player, but that’s all he is and during his three years at Arsenal he has shown little that would suggest there is a world beater inside him straining to get out.

He has made just four appearances this season and hasn’t played a single Premier League minute. Over the course of his time in London, he has scored just two goals and assisted seven in 76 appearances.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKzfM_CNN7o

Questions certainly need to be asked about the decision to hand him the prestigious number 4 shirt in the summer. That would have been perfect for Lucas Torreira who has to make do with the number 11 shirt which should, if we are going to be pedantic about these things – and I believe we should be – go to a winger.

The decision to award Elneny a contract until 2022 could be looked at as Arsenal protecting their investment, but his wages of £55k-a-week – his new deal came with a £15kpw raise – will certainly make it harder to shift him now.

So far, Leicester are the only club said to be interested in him although Marseille, who were reportedly interested in purchasing him in the summer, could be tempted back in.