Arsenal's first-team squad has changed a lot during the Mikel Arteta era, but there are still some remnants from the days of Arsene Wenger.
One of those players is Mohamed Elneny, who joined the Gunners midway through the 2015-16 season. The Egyptian international recently agreed a contract extension to keep him in north London until the summer of 2024 after returning to the first-team picture last season.
The former Basel midfielder is one of a number of players to have been at their current Premier League club for close to - or even more than - a decade. That isn't the case with every top-flight side, though, and Mirror Football has looked at the longest-serving player from all 20 teams in the division.
Arsenal - Mohamed Elneny
Elneny was Arsenal's only signing in January 2016, arriving from Basel with the hope of aiding a title push. While the Gunners fell short in that regard, they at least pipped rivals Tottenham to second spot behind Leicester.
After a few seasons on the fringes under Arsene Wenger and Unai Emery, the midfielder joined Besiktas on loan for the 2019-20 season. Some expected that to be the precursor to a permanent exit, but instead he returned and remains popular with Mikel Arteta even when not part of his starting XI.
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"A new chapter begins in my journey with Arsenal. I just signed a new contract," Elneny wrote on social media after confirming his extension. "Arsenal for me isn’t just a club I joined 7 years ago, which makes me the longest serving player currently. Arsenal is home, family, happiness, growth, and ambition. My Arsenal family, I love you."
Aston Villa - Jed Steer
Goalkeeper Steer might not have featured in the league this season, but he is closing in on a decade on Villa's books. The former Norwich stopper joined in 2013, shortly before his 21st birthday, but has made just 36 first-team appearances for his current club.
Steer's busiest Villa season was the promotion campaign of 2018-19, when he made 16 league appearances. The Englishman has spent several spells out on loan, most recently helping provide cover at Luton Town in the second half of last season. while his most recent Premier League appearance came against Chelsea in September 2021.
Most of the current squad at Villa Park is made up of players who joined post-promotion. However, Steer and 2018 signing John McGinn are rare exceptions.
Bournemouth - Adam Smith
Adam Smith has made more than 150 Premier League appearances, with just one of those coming for boyhood club Tottenham. The right-back left Spurs for Bournemouth in 2014 - having earlier enjoyed a stint there on loan - and hasn't looked back.
The Cherries won promotion in Smith's first full season on the south coast, and he featured prominently in the top flight under Eddie Howe. Relegation - and Howe's departure - didn't prompt the defender to leave, and he remains a regular this season under Gary O'Neil after helping his team return to the top tier.
Smith, now 31, is one of several members of the 2019-20 relegation squad to remain at the Vitality Stadium. He is under contract until the end of the 2023-24 season, by which time he'll have spend an uninterrupted decade with the club.
Brentford - Rico Henry
When Rico Henry joined Brentford in August 2016 they were en route to a 10th-place finish in the Championship under Dean Smith. Six-and-a-half years on, a top-10 Premier League finish could be their reward.
Signed as a teenager from Walsall, Henry was joining a defence which contained the likes of Andreas Bjelland, Yoann Barbet and Harlee Dean. These days, he's rubbing shoulders with several full internationals in the Bees' back line.
Henry isn't the only member of Brentford's squad to sign as a youngster in the second tier and remain in Thomas Frank's plans after the current boss replaced Smith in the dugout. Sergi Canos, currently on loan at Olympiacos, joined a few months after Henry and scored the Bees' first ever Premier League goal last term.
Brighton - Lewis Dunk
One of two players on Brighton's books for more than a decade, club captain Dunk has seamlessly made the move from the Championship to the Premier League. More than two thirds of his career league games have come in the top flight, earning praise from manager Roberto De Zerbi.
"For me, it’s difficult to see how he has never played for a big team in the Premier League because if you ask me what I think about him, I would say he is one of the best defenders in the Premier League," De Zerbi told club media before the centre-back's 400th career appearance. "I know well his potential and his standard of performance.."
Were it not for Dunk, Solly March's longevity would also look impressive. The winger joined from non-league Lewes in 2011 and made his Seagulls debut two years later.
Chelsea - Cesar Azpilicueta
Spanish defender Azpilicueta joined Chelsea in the summer of 2012, back when Roberto Di Matteo was in charge. To put that into context, other Blues signings in the same window include Eden Hazard, Victor Moses and Marko Marin.
A trophy in your first season is never likely to hurt, and in Azpilicueta's case this was the Europa League - won under interim manager Rafa Benitez. The versatile star now has more than 500 Chelsea appearances under his belt, staying in west London despite summer interest from Barcelona.
"I’m always totally honest and the conversations were there," Azpilicueta told club media in August. "I thought after the Club World Cup, winning this trophy and being the first player at Chelsea to win every single trophy available, that perhaps it was time to go back to Spain, maybe for a new challenge.
"But then everything happened, we had some really good conversations with the manager and the owners. I’m the captain of this club and I wanted to stay committed to Chelsea. The conversations we had will remain private, but we had some really good communications, we said what we thought and then I realised that I wanted to continue to help my club."
Crystal Palace - Joel Ward
Joel Ward made his Premier League debut for Portsmouth, playing a handful of games as a youngster as Pompey were relegated in the 2009-10 season. However, the bulk of his top-flight career has come in Crystal Palace colours.
The defender's first season in London saw the Eagles earn promotion via the Championship play-off final. He now has more than 300 appearances for the London side, including more than 250 in the Premier League.
A close second is Wilfried Zaha, who would be first were it not for an underwhelming stint away at Manchester United. The Ivorian winger rejoined Palace in 2015, but his first debut came all the way back in 2010.
Everton - Seamus Coleman
Not just the longest-serving Everton player, but the longest serving Premier League player full stop. The Irishman joined from Sligo Rovers in 2009 at the age of 20, making his debut later that year, and hasn't looked back.
Coleman has played under an array of managers during his time at Goodison Park, from David Moyes to Sean Dyche. Aside from the occasional injury setback, he has been a near-constant presence across more than 400 outings.
When the defender brought up a decade on Merseyside, some might have wondered how long such a high-energy player might have left at the top. Nearly 100 league games since that moment probably answers any lingering questions.
Fulham - Tom Cairney
Fulham's longest-serving current player is also the man who set in motion their recent movement between the top two tiers. Cairney, signed from Blackburn in 2015, scored the winner against Aston Villa in the 2018 Championship play-off final.
The Scottish international has mostly been used from the bench this term. Another man signed in the same summer, however, remains a key fixture.
American defender Tim Ream joined from Bolton just two months after Cairney arrived at Craven Cottage. Between them, the pair have more than 550 senior Fulham appearances.
Leeds - Liam Cooper
Back in 2014, when Liam Cooper joined Leeds from Chesterfield, things looked very different at Elland Road. David Hockaday was manager, Mirco Antenucci and Marco Silvestri were among the other new signings, and Cooper was still five years away from his first Scotland cap.
We don't have enough time to list all the managers Cooper has outlasted over the last nine years, but trust us when we say it's a lot. Three in the 2014-15 season alone, just for starters.
Cooper made his 250th appearance for Leeds this season. He had played a not-too-small part in ensuring more than 50 of those have been in the Premier League.
Leicester - Jamie Vardy
Cast your mind back to May 2012. Leicester were paying an initial £1m to Fleetwood Town for Jamie Vardy - a record for a non-league player - and plenty of questions were being answered.
More questions arose in 2015, but different ones. Questions like 'should this Premier League hotshot be in the England squad with Euro 2016 just around the corner?' (he was) and 'will Leicester win the league?' (they did).
Plenty of offers came and went after that title win, but Vardy stayed at the King Power Stadium and brought up a decade as a Leicester player last season. He is also 14th on the Premier League's all-time scorers list, with only a handful of players scoring more in the competition for a single club, suggesting that £1m might have been value for money.
Liverpool - Jordan Henderson
Speaking of players who might have left long before bringing up a decade with one club, Jordan Henderson could well have gone down a different path. Signed from Sunderland in 2011, Henderson is second only to Everton's Coleman in the list of the league's longest-serving stars, but almost left a number of years ago.
"I can remember it like it was yesterday," Henderson would later recall. "It was just before we played Hearts at Anfield, and we had a game on the night. I had a conversation with Brendan [then-manager Brendan Rodgers] at the hotel the day of the game – and to be fair to Brendan he sort of gave me the option. It was more the club that was willing to let me go."
Henderson, of course, opted to stay. Not only has he won plenty of silverware since - including a priceless Premier League title win in 2020 - but he has lifted a number of trophies as captain.
Man City - Kevin De Bruyne
Manchester City have splashed the cash under the current ownership, both before and after the 2016 appointment of Pep Guardiola. One of their most important stars, however, is a man who arrived before the current manager.
De Bruyne arrived in Manuel Pellegrini's final big-spending summer. Others to join in the same window included the recently-departed Raheem Sterling, the long-ago-departed Fabian Delph, and those like Florian Lejeune who never played a first-team minute before being moved on again.
A club-record signing at the time, the Belgian international has won four Premier League titles as a City player. He also sits fifth in the Premier League's all-time assist chart, with everyone besides runaway leader Ryan Giggs within his grasp.
Man Utd - David de Gea
De Gea already had a Europa League title under his belt when he joined Manchester United from Atletico Madrid in 2011. He won the competition for a second time in 2017, but his career in England has been a curious one.
The Spanish goalkeeper has had spells during which he could be considered among the best goalkeepers in the world. There was the chaotic near-miss of a transfer to Real Madrid, while he kept goal for his country at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
More than 400 Premier League appearances puts him in the competition's all-time top 50, but there's only one league title during that period. With uncertainty over his next contract, he could end up leaving Old Trafford before he gets a chance to add to that.
Newcastle - Paul Dummett
Newcastle have made plenty of additions to their squad since their 2021 takeover, but they still have a few stars with experience of relegation. One of those is Paul Dummett, the academy graduate who made his Premier League debut in 2013.
A decade on, the Wales international has more than 200 club appearances to his name. That tally includes 45 of the Magpies' 46 games as they won promotion back to the Premier League in 2017.
The defender is out of contract in the summer, and his only appearance this season came against Tranmere in the Carabao Cup. This suggests a summer departure could be on the cards, with Karl Darlow and Jamaal Lascelles - signed in a double swoop - the next-longest serving.
Nottingham Forest - Joe Worrall
Like Newcastle, Forest have seen their squad transform of late. However, in among the flurry of post-promotion signings is captain Joe Worrall.
The centre-back came through the ranks at the City Ground and made his first-team bow in 2016. His 200th club appearance came this season, an he has remained one of the handful of promotion-winning stars to continue playing a prominent part.
“It's amazing to think we will not just be watching Match of the Day in August – we'll be on it," Worrall said back in May after sealing promotion. "The pundits will be picking over our performances and it's fantastic."
Southampton - James Ward-Prowse
Plenty of rivals have sniffed around Southampton star James Ward-Prowse, but the free-kick expert has remained at St Mary's. The Saints were still in the Championship when he made his senior debut in October 2011, with his first goal coming a few months later in the FA Cup.
An appearance at Leeds on Saturday brought the midfielder level with Jason Dodd in the club's all-time Premier League appearance charts. Those 329 outings have come with 46 goals, including a career-best 10 in the 2021-22 season.
If Southampton go down this season, it could lead to a significant overhaul. A number of younger players arrived last summer, though, and some will hope at least one of them can produce the kind of longevity Ward-Prowse has shown.
Spurs - Harry Kane
For most clubs, Hugo Lloris' decade-plus of service would be unbeatable. Not at Spurs, though, where Harry Kane has been around even longer.
You have to go back to August 2011 for Kane's first Spurs game, in a Europa League meeting with Hearts. His first senior goal for the club came a few months later, against Shamrock Rovers in the same competition, while he had to wait until the following season for his first Premier League minutes.
At that moment in time, the striker's record-breaking Spurs goal tally was a distant dream. He has made it happen, though, remaining in north London despite sustained interest from a number of Premier League rivals.
West Ham - Aaron Cresswell
Sam Allardyce's final season at West Ham wasn't the most memorable, but it did see Aaron Cresswell move to east London. The left-back joined for £5m from Ipswich, and became the Hammers' longest-serving player when Mark Noble retired in 2022.
The left-back played his 300th Hammers game this season, and is one of just a handful of current squad members to have played at Upton Park before the club moved to the London Stadium. Angelo Ogbonna, Michail Antonio and Manuel Lanzini are also in that select group, having joined a year after Cresswell.
Despite having never played Premier League football before joining the London club, he developed into an England international during the early part of Gareth Southgate's tenure. The defender was also part of the West Ham squad which reached the Europa League semi-finals, though his red card against Eintracht Frankfurt will still hurt.
Wolves - Ruben Neves
While Conor Coady is technically Wolves ' longest-serving player, he may well have played his final game for the club. The centre-back is on loan at Everton, but a permanent exit could well follow.
Behind Coady is Ruben Neves, another member of the squad which won promotion in 2018. The midfielder joined in a big-money move from Porto, and is still at Molineux more than half a decade on.
There has, naturally, been interest in the Portugal international. However, he has continued to contribute on the field under current boss Julen Lopetegui.
