‘He has to stay’: Ian Wright urges Arsenal not to get rid of ‘unbelievable’ midfielder this summer

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Mo Elneny has stepped into the breach for Arsenal amid an injury crisis and helped the Gunners to beat Chelsea and Manchester United.

The midfielder has come in from the cold, and could have saved his Arsenal career ahead of a summer where he looked all set to leave.

Gunners legend Ian Wright has said on his Ringer FC podcast that he wants Arteta to keep the Egyptian midfielder after his recent displays.

“We are talking about players who came on who do a job for their manager with unbelievable professionalism,” he said.

“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 2nd – and play at that level, you have to say hats off to him.”

This is a tricky situation to come down on either side of it.

It is clear to see Wright’s argument, that Arsenal need reliable squad players, capable of stepping in when there are injuries and also to cope with the demands of European football next season.

But also, it is possible to see a situation where this late season flurry earns Elneny a new deal and we get into next season and question the wisdom of the extension, if he doesn’t play as regularly as he might expect.

Of course, Elneny may decide himself to leave at the end of his current contract, but for the time being, full focus has to be on making it into that top four.