Arsenal decide against selling 29-year-old midfielder

Arsenal declined the opportunity to sell midfielder Mohamed Elneny to Galatasaray, according to Sky Sports.

The Egyptian has entered the final year of his contract, and it was recently claimed that he could be offloaded.

Galatasaray tried to sign him before today's Turkish transfer deadline, but the Gunners rejected their transfer proposal.

The Gunners are currently short of midfield options with Granit Xhaka suspended for three domestic matches.

Thomas Partey has returned to full training after an ankle injury, but he may not be rushed back to the starting line-up.

This leaves Mikel Arteta with three more choices in Albert Sambi Lokonga, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Elneny.

Maitland-Niles has barely played in the position for the Gunners despite making over 100 appearances for them.

Hence, the decision to keep Elneny is justifiable. There are suggestions that he could sign a short-term renewal.

The 29-year-old has been a good squad player. He could have a busy run of games following the international break.