Mohamed Elneny picked up a booking for a foul on former Gunner Lukas Podolski on Saturday, as Antalyaspor beat Besiktas 2-1.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - OCTOBER 03: Mohamed Elneny of Besiktas reacts at full-time after the UEFA Europa League group K match between Besiktas and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Vodafone Park on October 03, 2019 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
ISTANBUL, TURKEY: Mohamed Elneny of Besiktas reacts at full-time on October 03, 2019. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Mohamed Elneny became the fourth Arsenal loanee to return to the pitch on Saturday, following appearances by Jordi Osei-Tutu (Bochum, Germany), Konstantinos Mavropanos (Nurnberg, Germany) and Dejan Iliev (Jagiellonia, Poland).

Elneny was starting for Besiktas opposite former Gunner Lukas Podolski and Antalyaspor. The two ended up in a flashpoint in the 32nd minute, as the loan Arsenal midfielder dragged the German down to prevent a counter-attack, taking a yellow card.

Podolski had the last laugh, setting up what would turn out to be the winning goal three minutes later. He assisted Amilton da Silva for 2-0, with Besiktas pulling one back in the second half.

It was a pretty standard Elneny performance, overall. He completed over 100 passes with a 97% accuracy, but rarely in the final third. Instead, he spent most of the match distributing possession from Besiktas’ backline.

The biggest positive was seeing him back out on the pitch at all. Recent rumours suggested he might go on strike over an outstanding debt. Clearly, the two parties came to some form of compromise.