Arsenal are enjoying a tremendous run of form in the Premier League, and while they might not win the title, they look set to compete for years to come.
Mikel Arteta and Edu have built a brilliant team from the rubble of Unai Emery's disappointing side over the last few years, and while good transfers have played a vital role in that rebuild, so has youth development.
Bukayo Saka, arguably the most valuable player at the club, came through Hale End, and before William Saliba, Martin Odegaard, and Declan Rice were starting alongside him, it was Emile Smith Rowe.
The young Englishman was undeniably Saka's dynamic partner, so much so that the pair had a song together, and while injury has curtailed his development, he could still be set for a bright future in N5, although quite remarkably, for as much potential as he has, there is a rarely used player who currently earns more than him in the squad.
Emile Smith Rowe's Impact at Arsenal
Smith Rowe debuted for Arsenal towards the end of a UEFA Europa League game against Vorskla Poltava in September 2018. However, he would only make 12 appearances across the 2018/19 and 2019/20 campaigns, with his real breakout coming in the latter half of Arteta's first full season at the club, 2020/21.
Across all competitions, the Croydon-born gem made 33 appearances, scored four goals, provided seven assists and won the Arsenal's Fans' Footballer of the Year for 2021.
The following season saw him improve his goalscoring record as he grabbed 11 goals of his own and provided two assists in just 37 appearances, with Arteta describing him as "a key player" for the Gunners.
Everything looked like it was going to plan for the "prolific" attacker, as described by talent scout Jacek Kulig, but a slew of injuries, setbacks and niggles over the last two seasons have seen him play just 552 minutes of football across 30 games for the Gunners since the start of last season.
Matches Played
112
Minutes Played
5727
Goals
18
Assists
12
Goal Involvements per Match
0.26
Minutes per Goal Involvement
190.9
It has been a difficult setback for a player who looked destined to play a role akin to Saka's in this new-look Arsenal team just a couple of seasons ago, but with Arteta starting to give him more opportunities again this season, the "outstanding" Hale End gem, as described by Paul Robinson, could well fight his way back into the starting XI.
However, the club might want to offer him a new deal in the meantime, as his current wage of £40k-per-week, even taking into account his injury troubles, is well below where you might expect it to be, at least in comparison to the wage of another player who has no future in the first XI.
How much money Mohamed Elneny has cost Arsenal
So, the first thing to note is that Mohamed Elneny is quite a popular figure among fans due to his evident love of the club, and while that's admirable, his lack of importance to the team makes his contract situation quite bizarre.
The Egyptian international was signed from FC Basel in January 2016 for a fee of around £5m and has made just 161 appearances for the club and played about 9520 minutes worth of competitive football.
Matches Played
161
Minutes Played
9520
Goals
6
Assists
10
Goal Involvements per Match
0.09
In his first four seasons at the club, he earned £30k-per-week, before spending the 2019/20 season on loan at Turkish Süper Lig side Besiktas, who subsequently paid his wages for that season.
Upon his return to Arsenal, he began earning £50k-per-week until signing an extension in February 2023 that saw his wage increase once again to around £55k-per-week for half of last season and this season, which means that thus far, the 31-year-old has earned around £15.8m in wages from Arsenal, with more to come over the rest of the campaign.
Combine that with the £5m transfer fee, and that means that the north Londoners have spent a grand total of £20.8m on Elneny, which equates to about £2184 per minute, or £129k-per-game.
Transfer Fee
£5m
Wages
£15.8m
Price per minute
£2184
Price per Match
£129k
Price per Goal
£3.46m
Price per Assist
£2.08m
Price per Goal Involvement
£1.30m
Now, the 98-capped international has not been bad for the Gunners, not at all. Still, his lack of game time across his eight years at the club serves as evidence that he isn't massively important either, and it seems odd that he would be earning £15k-per-week more than Smith Rowe, who could well still become an integral part of Arsenal's future.
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Ultimately, with the Egyptian's contract expiring in the summer, the club will have to decide whether it's finally time to move on, and given the club's current trajectory, it probably is.