Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny has taken to social media to announce his departure from Besiktas having spent the entire 2019-20 season on loan.
The 28-year-old Egyptian was a mainstay in the Black Eagles squad, making 36 appearances in all competitions, 27 of them coming in the Turkish Super Lig where he scored one goal and provided four assists.
Elneny only missed four top-flight games which were due to a three-game suspension for a straight red card he collected on the opening day of the season in a 3-2 defeat by Gaziantep. He also missed a 2-1 loss by Goztepe because of an accumulation of four yellow cards.
He averaged 88 minutes per game in the Super Lig, 1.0 interceptions, 1.3 tackles and 1.1 clearances. Elneny did not commit any error leading to a shot, goal or concede a penalty.
“Yesterday was my last day in Istanbul & fans made it very emotional by the amount of love I witnessed,” Elneny said in a Twitter post.
“Besiktas fans: I was really touched and will always be grateful. Management & teammates: A memorable season with a superb ending by qualifying for the Champions League. Thank you for everything.”
Elneny is expected to return to Arsenal and will reportedly be part of the team’s pre-season preparations with the Premier League set to kick off on September 12 and the Gunners tackling newly-promoted Fulham at Craven Cottage.
It does not look certain that Elneny will be in Mikel Arteta’s plans despite his impressive loan stint at Besiktas. The Egyptian is not lacking suitors however with Besiktas looking to bring him back on a permanent basis while other Turkish giants in Fenerbahce, Galatasaray and Trabzonspor, are all rumoured to want to acquire him.
Elneny arrived from Basel in 2016 and has played 89 times in all competitions for Arsenal, 46 of them coming in the Premier League where he is yet to score but has provided three assists. He won the FA Cup and Community Shield in 2017 before finishing runner-up in the League Cup in 2018 and Europa League in 2019.
Elneny is a 78-time capped Egypt international and has featured at the 2017 and 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, finishing runner-up in the former. He also participated at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the Pharaohs finishing bottom of Group A with no points after losses to the hosts, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.