I think whatever happens, until we get better players, Elneny has to be a starter.

Absolutely not. He's at best the fourth best midfielder at the club.

Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert wrote:

I think whatever happens, until we get better players, Elneny has to be a starter.

We know what we are getting with Xhaka. I’d like to see Elneny tested a little more. He’s getting involved in chance / goal build up. Maybe there’s something there 

I like Elneny under Arteta. He’s good at following instructions, good positioning, first time passes, doesn’t hold onto the ball long. He’s a good option.

I like Elneny too, always have. He's got football intelligence. I don't know where his reputation as a backpasser comes from. He's not the most adventurous player but he's one of few who can get the ball forward even under pressure. He's a good piece to have for tactical football.

I am hoping Elneny has some great games in the Europa so we can flog him off in Jan and get us Aouar

GooneriC wrote:

I am hoping Elneny has some great games in the Europa so we can flog him off in Jan and get us Aouar

Flog Xhaka.
Trust me. The fastest way you are going to improve this team is by destroying it. Get rid of the weakest starters. The motto for January has to be Boom Xhaka Laca!!!

You have to build around the promise. Your guys like Thomas, Auba, Gabriel, Leno, Tierney.

Agreed, Claude.

There's something to be said for doing the basics consistently. Elneny has a reliable touch and passing. He also doesn't dally unlike Ceballos and Xhaka.

However I would like to see Ceballos deployed in front of Mo and Thomas. I'm not convinced Dani has the creativity but it's worth testing.

El Neny is a work horse. Absolutely middling player. In the crucial moments he will let you down. Xhaka doesn't necessarily have to be cut. He can just drop to the bench.

Xhaka is better than Elneny. You don' improve by selling Xhaka and moving Elneny up the pecking order. Elneny is an ok 4th choice, move him any higher up the squad and its an issue.

Best case scenario we build some value in elneny and sell him. I still don't rate him

Qwiss! wrote:

Xhaka is better than Elneny. You don' improve by selling Xhaka and moving Elneny up the pecking order. Elneny is an ok 4th choice, move him any higher up the squad and its an issue.

Look at the recent squad valuation (total spend on Premier League registered players), and we were 4th behind City, United and Chelsea. Yet we haven’t finished in the top 4 in 4 years. That immediately tells me that we have poor resource allocation. We have spent enough, we just haven’t spent it well. There’s 2 main problems. We spent it on bad players. And we spent it diffusely. We need to solve both. Concentrate spend on superstars. And recruit better at all levels. (There are budding signs of both).

That means we need a much better starting lineup. Think back to the Invincibles. You knew the first 11. They constantly played together and became a well-oiled machine. That’s the last 2 1-/2 years of Liverpool as well. You get a better return from a great first 11 than a deep team. Thats why I am fine losing at least 6-9 players on this team. I’m willing to sacrifice these guys for 2-3 super quality guys that put us over the top. We have some 30 players. What are you doing with that? The most value naturally lies in the guys in the starting lineup. Take them out. Xhaka, Lacazette stand out most.

I don't see what any of that has to do with Elneny.

He said you don’t get rid of Xhaka. You get rid of Elneny. Follow the trail.
Xhaka and Lacazette are starters who are holding us back and tying capital. They are the problem. Not Elneny

But if Elneny is a starter instead he will equally be the problem. Only that he's a lesser player, so he's a bigger problem.

Where did I say the solution is we should be going with Elneny as the starter long term? I said we need more Parteys. Narrower squad. Do that. Win things. Stop stressing about how we will distribute minutes among all our Cedrics, AMNs, and Bellerins

Of course everyone wants to upgrade on Xhaka as well, but buying a new starter and getting rid of Elneny is also upgrading on Xhaka. Also the window isn't open so whether Xhaka or Elneny plays is exactly what we need to be stressing about.

All things being equal, you won’t get as much money for Elneny as you would for Xhaka.
We have to stop being precious about the guys who dragged us down to 8th place.