Arsenal outcast seals last-minute move to Turkey

He was the second Arsenal deadline day departure.

Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny has joined Turkish club Besiktas on a season-long loan.

The Egyptian midfielder becomes the second departure at the Emirates, following the permanent exit of defender Nacho Monreal, who signed for Real Sociedad.

Elneny has fallen out of favor under Unai Emery, with his game time restricted mostly to cup competitions. He played just 17 times during the 2018/19 campaign, and this season, he was not named in any of the opening three matchday squads.

Emery has favored academy star Joe Willock in recent weeks, as well as Real Madrid loanee Dani Ceballos. The Gunners boss advised both the midfielder and team-mate Shkodran Mustafi to leave for a new challenge before the European deadline shuts.

And after holding talks with the Turkish giants, he had jetted to Istanbul to complete a season-long loan. The Egyptian took to social media to upload a picture of him on a plane with “Turkish Airlines” advertised in the background.

Further reports claim that Besiktas have the option to land him on a permanent move for €17 million at the end of the season .It would represent a healthy profit for Arsenal who forked out around €7 million when they signed him from Basel in 2016.

The 27-year-old midfielder took to Twitter say: “I am very excited to be joining Turkish giants Besiktas and I look forward to achieving our targets in the Super Lig and Europe.

“To my dear Arsenal fans and teammates, I wish all the success for the season and be sure that I will be following the team’s progress from Istanbul.”

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