Arsenal ‘determined’ to keep hold of midfield man as they plot Youri Tielemans move

Just weeks on from being free to leave this summer, Arsenal are now determined to keep hold of Mohamed Elneny this summer and offer him a new contract, it has been reported, despite persistent interest in Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans.

A season-ending injury to Thomas Partey has thrust Elneny into the spotlight, and he has excelled as Arsenal have picked up four successive wins to move four points clear in the race for 4th spot with 3 games left to play.

Elneny had the third most touches and the most passes received for Arsenal today but no-one in a red shirt lost possession more infrequently (just four times in 90 minutes).

And before you assume he passed backwards, only 10% of his passes went backwards, 14.3% forwards. pic.twitter.com/E7tngfky5w

— James Benge (@jamesbenge) May 8, 2022

The Egyptian is out of contract this summer, but as per the Athletic, ‘negotiations are believed to only be at an initial stage but Arsenal are now determined to keep hold of Elneny’ beyond the end date of his current deal, with Elneny previously claiming that he would be happy to extend in north London should he be given the chance.

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Another defeat to Leicester City continued to compound a difficult season for the Foxes, and Youri Tielemans will already have one eye on the exit door this summer. The Belgian midfielder has one year left on his contract and, barring a major U-turn, will not be signing a new deal in the midlands.

This has led to speculation about his future, with Arsenal heavily linked to the 24-year-old as they look to revamp their midfield this summer, with David Ornstein revealing that he is currently the Gunners’ ‘top target’ for the no.8 role.

Leicester City’s Youri Tielemans during the Premier League match at the King Power Stadium, Leicester. (Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)

‘Arsenal’s key decision-makers are thought to be in favour of acquiring the former Monaco midfielder, and dialogue with his representatives is said to have offered cause for encouragement’, the reliable transfer journalist adds.

Elneny’s renaissance may have come at a key time, but strengthening in the middle of the remains a key priority for the Gunners this summer.

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Premier League table

#	Team	MP	D	P
1	Liverpool FC	35	64	83
2	Manchester City	34	63	83
3	Chelsea FC	35	39	67
4	Arsenal FC	34	13	63
5	Tottenham Hotspur	35	20	62
6	Manchester United	37	1	58
7	West Ham United	35	7	52
8	Wolverhampton Wanderers	35	1	50
9	Brighton & Hove Albion	36	-4	47
10	Crystal Palace	35	4	44
11	Aston Villa	34	0	43
12	Brentford FC	36	-8	43
13	Newcastle United	35	-16	43
14	Leicester City	33	-6	42
15	Southampton FC	36	-20	40
16	Burnley FC	35	-17	34
17	Leeds United	34	-34	34
18	Everton FC	33	-20	32
19	Watford FC	35	-38	22
20	Norwich City	34	-49	21

Player	Team	Goals
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	22
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	20
Ronaldo, Cristiano	Manchester United	18
Jota, Diogo	Liverpool FC	15
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	14
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur	13
Zaha, Wilfried	Crystal Palace	13
Toney, Ivan	Brentford FC	12
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City	12
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City	11
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	11
Mahrez, Riyad	Manchester City	11
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	10
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	10
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	10
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	10
Pukki, Teemu	Norwich City	10
Raphinha	Leeds United	10
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City	10
Smith-Rowe, Emile	Arsenal FC	10

Player	Team	Red Cards	Yellow Cards
Brownhill, Josh	Burnley FC	0	10
Bednarek, Jan	Southampton FC	0	10
Tarkowski, James	Burnley FC	0	10
Bissouma, Yves	Brighton & Hove Albion	0	10
Firpo, Junior	Leeds United	0	10
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	0	9
Gallagher, Conor	Crystal Palace	0	9
Neves, Ruben	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0	9
Mings, Tyrone	Aston Villa	0	9
Xhaka, Granit	Arsenal FC	1	8
Mctominay, Scott	Manchester United	0	9
Salisu, Mohammed	Southampton FC	0	8
Ronaldo, Cristiano	Manchester United	0	8
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	0	7
Richarlison	Everton FC	0	8
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	1	7
Alonso, Marcos	Chelsea FC	0	8
Moreno, Rodrigo	Leeds United	0	8
McGinn, John	Aston Villa	0	8
Cash, Matty	Aston Villa	0	8

Player	Team	Assists
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	13
Alexander-Arnold, Trent	Liverpool FC	12
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	10
Robertson, Andy	Liverpool FC	10
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur	9
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	9
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	9
Jesus, Gabriel	Manchester City	8
Kulusevski, Dejan	Tottenham Hotspur	8
Cancelo, Joao	Manchester City	8
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	7
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City	7
Lacazette, Alexandre	Arsenal FC	7
Barnes, Harvey	Leicester City	7
Mbeumo, Bryan	Brentford FC	7
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	6
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	6
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	6
Antonio, Michail	West Ham United	6
Benrahma, Said	West Ham United	6