Arsenal: Mohamed Elneny completes medical ahead of Emirates move

Mohamed Elneny has passed his medical with Arsenal ahead of his much discussed move to the Emirates. The Basel midfielder is being touted as a cover for Francis Coquelin, who is expected to be out till the end of February with a knee ligament injury.

The Guardian reports that the only thing keeping Arsenal from announcing the deal is a work permit, for which the Gunners need a special permission from the English FA. Elneny has played a part in most of Egypt's games over the past couple of seasons and should have been eligible for a permit on merit, but Egypt have fallen out of the top 50 in the Fifa rankings which makes a player of that nationality ineligible for direct permission.

Personal terms have already been agreed with the player, who has come into the limelight out of nowhere, currently plying his trade with Basel. The midfielder has played an important part with the Swiss club in the Europa League, making five appearances, scoring two goals in the process.

Arsene Wenger will be hoping that the Egyptian can hit the ground running as soon as possible, with the Gunners down to their bare bones with a barrage of injuries to key players. The north London club have seven players out of contention but midfield is where the problem lies, with five first team players out till later in the year.

Aaron Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini have been working in that position and have done a commendable job thus far, with Wenger giving Calum Chambers a run through against Bournemouth after Flamini sustained an ankle injury. It was a minor setback and the Frenchman is likely to be back in action when the Gunners face Newcastle United at the Emirates on Saturday, January 2.

There is further good news for the Gunners on the injury front, with Alexis Sanchez set to be back in action against Sunderland for the third round of the FA Cup. The Chilean had sustained a hamstring injury against Norwich City at the end of November and his arrival will be a massive boost for the Gunners, who have a difficult fixture list ahead of them in January.