Mohamed Elneny says he wants to stay at Arsenal for as long as possible, and he doesn’t think he could play for another team now.

Mohamed Elneny is currently out injured, but he’s still trying to play a role with the Arsenal title charge behind the scenes, giving positive energy to his teammates at the training ground.

The midfielder signed a new contract with the Gunners earlier this year, committing to the club until 2024.

Elneny previously had a contract to 2023, plus a one-year option to extend. However, he signed a totally new deal on lower wages instead of activating that option.

Fabrizio Romano reported that Elneny had received approaches from Italy, Spain, and Turkey as his initial contract with Arsenal ran down. But his priority was always to stay in north London.

Speaking this week, Elneny admitted he doesn’t think he could play for anyone else at this stage.

“The first ever interview I gave when I signed, they asked me about what I saw in the future – I said I wanted to be an Arsenal legend,” Elneny said.

“I still want to be that, I want to stay here as long as I can because of how much I love this club. I don’t think I would be able to go and play for a different team anymore.

“That is why every day I come here to give everything, to make sure I can stay here as long as I can.”

Elneny’s contract extension made sense for him despite the lower wages, as it secures his future while he recovers from injury with Arsenal.

If the Gunners had opted against activating his extension, he would’ve been an injured free agent this summer.

On Arsenal’s end, they’re saving some money over the next few months due to the wage drop, and then they’ll hopefully have the midfielder fit and available again on lower wages next season. So it works for them too.

It’s not currently known exactly when Elneny will return from his knee injury. The Egypt international is set to be out for the rest of the season, but there’s no timeframe beyond that.