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Midfielder arrives in London to complete Arsenal move – reports

By mac14 on January 13, 2016

It looks like Arsenal are ready to finally seal a deal for Mohamed Elneny as Sky Sports are reporting that the midfielder has now arrived in London to wrap-up his £7m switch from FC Basel.

Elneny has been strongly linked with a move to the Emirates in recent weeks and ESPN reported last week that we had sent a delegation over to Switzerland to finalise some loose ends with Basel after agreeing a £7m deal.

The 23-year-old has already agreed personal terms over a four-and-a-half-year contract and has completed his medical but Arsene revealed on Monday that work permit and paperwork complications were holding up the proposed transfer.

The boss is quoted by Sky Sports as saying at his press conference earlier this week:

“I expect Mohamed yes, we are positive that this week it can happen.

“The situation should be sorted out. There are a lot of work permit problems and special paperwork to do, (the) visa, so we hope we can finalise it this week.

“As long as it is not definitely signed, you have to be cautious, but I am optimistic about the case.”

However, it looks as though those formalities are now about to be overcome as Sky Sports claim that Elneny has arrived in London to complete his move to the Emirates.

As long as there are no last minute hiccups, the Egyptian international should become our first signing of the January window and he could be registered in time to make his debut against Stoke City on Sunday.

I personally doubt Arsene will throw him straight in to action, especially in a tough away game at the Britannia, but it will be great just to finally get this deal over the line.

Elneny has racked up 39 caps for Egypt and has played a key role in helping Basel win three successive league titles since joining the club in 2013, so he certainly looks to have a bright future ahead of him.

The midfielder’s arrival will help ease the load in the middle of the park as Wenger has seen him options decimated by injuries to Coquelin, Cazorla, Wilshere and Arteta during the first half of the season.