Mohamed Elneny. Man-of-the-match.
A four-word verdict not often associated with the Arsenal midfielder, but on Wednesday evening he was the star of the show as Egypt beat Nicolas Pepe's Ivory Coast on penalties to reach the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final.
And he could be about to play a key role for his club side ahead of the January transfer window closing this coming Monday.
It won't be lost on any supporter that Elneny's performance and the subsequent award have come hot on the heels of the Gunners suffering a double blow in attempts to sign a new central midfielder.
Before the 29-year-old took to the pitch in Cameroon, it was reported that Bruno Guimaraes - linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium since the 2020 winter transfer window - is set to secure a move to Newcastle United for around £33million.
Then a few hours later, news emerged of another midfield target that Arsenal appear to be missing out on.
As previously reported by football.london, Gunners technical director Edu has been trying to thrash out a deal to sign Arthur Melo on loan from Juventus until the end of the season.
According to The Athletic, the chances of Arthur joining the north London outfit are 'diminishing' and this is despite Edu and Juventus director Federico Cherubini aligning on an 18-month loan deal with a €40m (£33m) option to buy clause.
Furthermore, the report states that it's the Arsenal hierarchy who are reluctant to sign off on this deal and as things stand, the 21-capped Brazil international will be staying put in Italy.
With that said, Arthur and Bruno Guimaraes aren't the only midfielders said to be on the Gunners' radar as Lille's Renato Sanches and Paris Saint-Germain's Georginio Wijnaldum have also been linked.
Whether Mikel Arteta gets his wish to bolster his central midfield options before the transfer window closes remains to be seen but there's a good chance that Elneny will have a big part to play.
At some point in the next five months, the midfielder is expected to leave Arsenal.
As per Sport360Egypt, Fenerbahce have requested a meeting to discuss negotiations about signing Elneny immediately, although as the winter transfer window in Turkey closes on February 8, there's still plenty of time to reach an agreement.
In addition, despite the midfielder currently on international duty at AFCON, this factor won't jeopardise a return to Turkey even if Egypt reach the final as it takes place two days before their transfer window shuts.
Of course, it would be in Arsenal's best interests to line up a replacement for Elneny if they reach an agreement with Fenerbahce. Otherwise, they risk another midfield crisis.
It has become even more evident throughout the month that the Gunners need to strengthen in midfield as relying on Albert Sambi Lokonga as the only senior option for games against Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Burnley backfired.
Taking into account Thomas Partey's injury problems since joining from Atletico Madrid and the fact that Granit Xhaka is always seemingly one tackle away from a suspension, surely Arteta and Edu can't afford to allow Elneny to leave without bringing in cover.
Alternatively and perhaps most likely, Elneny departs the Emirates Stadium when his contract expires at the end of June and Arsenal sign his replacement in the summer transfer window.
In this scenario, his game time could increase upon returning from AFCON next month as he's already moved up the pecking order following Ainsley Maitland-Niles' move to AS Roma.
Still likely to be the fourth-choice option behind Partey, Xhaka and Lokonga, the fact Elneny's one and only Premier League start this season so far was away at Manchester United speaks volumes.
"[To be able] to play a player like him, with that experience that he has playing in this arena," Arteta said when explaining the decision last month. "He was incredibly good last year when he played here as well.
"The way he has been training, and the way he behaves, and because I believe that sometimes we have to rotate things for the game."
These comments indicate that despite limited game time this season, Elneny's professionalism can't be called into question, that he has accepted being a squad player and would have no problem resuming that role until the end of the season after returning from AFCON.
As a result, this allows Arsenal to go big in the summer for a top-quality midfielder and maybe focus their attention on signing a striker in the remaining days of the January transfer window.
