Mohamed Elneny scored a penalty in his final game of the season for Besiktas, his only goal of the loan spell ahead of a decision on his future this summer.
On-loan Elneny and Besiktas went into the final day of the Super Lig season aiming for a third-place finish. They already secured top-four and a Europa League spot in the previous round of fixtures but could still overtake Sivasspor if both results went their way.
After a tight first half a disallowed goal for both teams, Besiktas ended up cruising to a 3-0 win. Meanwhile, Sivasspor slipped to a 3-1 defeat.
Elneny scored the third goal for Besiktas, his first of the loan spell. Given how deep the midfielder plays, he doesn’t often get the chance to shoot. Even in this case, the situation was rather manufactured by allowing Elneny to take a penalty.
Still, as Elneny said on social media afterwards, it was the perfect way to end the season. The Arsenal midfielder also made a goalline clearance earlier in the game and completed 92% of his passes.
Now, he’ll return to North London to sort out his future. With two years on his contract, it’s still possible he’ll go on another loan. However, you’d imagine Arsenal will prefer a permanent sale if possible.
Despite a positive loan spell, 36 appearances, a goal and three assists, I can’t see Arsenal playing Elneny next season. It’s hard to see him displacing the current midfielders, let alone any new signings.
You can watch Elneny’s penalty goal from 1:01:16 in the linked extended highlight package on BT Sport.