Al Mokawloon Elneny played his youth football with
Al Ahly. In 2008, he transferred to
Al Mokawloon during the
2010–2011 season. Elneny advanced and became a regular in the starting team. Following the
Port Said Stadium disaster in early February 2012, the Egyptian Premier League was stopped and all subsequent matches of the
2011–12 Egyptian Premier League were postponed. On 10 March 2012, the
Egyptian Football Association announced their decision to cancel the remainder of the season.
Basel in 2013
FC Basel had been watching Elneny for some time and invited him to their training camp in
Estepona from 14 to 24 January 2013. Elneny played his unofficial debut on 18 January 2013 during the friendly match against
Steaua București, a 1–1 draw. Elneny was able to impress Basel's trainer
Murat Yakin during the training camp and on 29 January 2013, it was announced that he had signed a loan contract with Basel up until the end of June 2013. Elneny played his official debut for Basel in the
2012–13 Swiss Super League season on 10 February 2013 in the 3–0 home win against
Sion as he was substituted in at half time. At the end of the
Swiss Super League season 2012–13 Elneny won the Championship title and was
Swiss Cup runner up with Basel. In the
2012–13 UEFA Europa League Basel advanced as far as the
semi-finals, there being matched against the reigning
UEFA Champions League holders
Chelsea, but they were knocked out, losing both home and away ties, beaten 2–5 on aggregate. During May 2013 Basel announced that they had taken up the option of signing the Egyptian midfielder on a permanent basis. He signed a four-year contract up until 30 June 2017. He scored his first goal for Basel, the last goal of the match, in the 4–2 home win at the
St. Jakob-Park against
Zurich on 16 April 2014. At the end of the
2013–14 Super League season, Elneny won the league championship with Basel. They also reached the final of the
2013–14 Swiss Cup, but were beaten 2–0 by
Zürich in extra time. During the
2013–14 Champions League season, Basel reached the
group stage and finished the group in third position. Thus they qualified for
Europa League knockout phase, where they advanced as far as the quarter-finals. In the
2013–14 season, Basel played a total of 68 matches (36 Swiss League fixtures, 6 Swiss Cup, 6 Champions League and 10 Europa League and 10 test matches). Elneny totaled 55 appearances, 32 League, 4 Cup, 6 Champions League and 6 Europa League as well 7 in the test games. He scored just that one goal in the league. The season 2014–15 was a very successful one for Elneny and FC Basel. The championship was won for the sixth time in a row
that season and in the
2014–15 Swiss Cup they reached the final. But for the third season in a row, they finished as runners-up, losing 0–3 to
FC Sion in the final. Basel entered the
Champions League in the
group stage and reached the
knockout phase as on 9 December 2014 they managed a 1–1 draw at
Anfield against
Liverpool. But then Basel then lost to Porto in the
Round of 16. Basel played a total of 65 matches (36 Swiss League fixtures, 6 Swiss Cup, 8 Champions League and 15 test matches). Under manager
Paulo Sousa Elneny totaled 51 appearances, 29 in the Super League, 6 in the Cup and 7 in the Champions League, as well 9 in test games. He scored 5 goals in these matches. Despite the fact that Elneny left the club during the winter break, under their new trainer
Urs Fischer Basel won the
Swiss Super League championship at the end of the
2015–16 Super League season. For Elneny it was the fourth title, for the club it was the seventh in a row and their 19th championship title in total. During his time with the club, Elneny played a total of 169 games for Basel scoring a total of 13 goals. 91 of these games were in the
Swiss Super League, 16 in the
Swiss Cup, 37 in the UEFA competitions (Champions League and Europa League) and 25 were friendly games. He scored five goals in the domestic league, three in the cup, two in the
Europa League and the other three were scored during the test games.
Arsenal in 2016 On 13 January 2016, after a 3–3 draw against
Liverpool, Arsenal manager
Arsène Wenger confirmed the signing of Elneny from FC Basel. The following day, the transfer was officially confirmed by the club for an undisclosed fee reported to be somewhere between £5 million and £7.4 million. He was assigned the number 35 shirt for Arsenal. He made his debut for the club in a 2–1 win against
Burnley in the fourth round of the
FA Cup on 30 January, becoming the first Egyptian ever to play for Arsenal. Elneny scored his first Arsenal goal in the
Champions League Round of 16 second leg defeat against
FC Barcelona, and was later awarded Arsenal's Player of the Month award for March. He also starred in April combining well with
Aaron Ramsey, winning the Arsenal's Player of the Month award for a second month. Elneny's only goal won him the goal of the season award for Arsenal. In the 2017–18 season, on 7 December 2017, Elneny scored his first goal at the Emirates Stadium (his second for Arsenal overall) in the
Europa League Group Stage against
FC BATE Borisov in a match which ended 6–0 to the home side. On 15 February, Elneny again produced a commendable display in the first leg of Arsenal's round of 32
Europa league tie against
Östersunds FK. Elneny was subsequently rewarded man of the match for his effort in a 3–0 away victory. On 26 March 2018, Elneny renewed his contract with Arsenal. On 8 April 2018, Elneny was sent off against
Southampton. In a tight game defender
Jack Stephens tussled with
Jack Wilshere and retaliation from Stephens resulted in referee
Andre Marriner giving him a straight red. Wilshere escaped with just a yellow card but in the aftermath, Elneny received a red card after a shove on future Arsenal teammate
Cédric Soares, that was his first red card ever in his professional career. Arsenal held on to win 3–2.
Loan to Beşiktaş On 31 August 2019, Elneny joined
Beşiktaş J.K. on a season-long loan deal with an optional buyout clause. On 14 September, Elneny was sent off in his debut in a 3–2 defeat against
Gazisehir Gaziantep in the
Turkish Super Lig. On 25 July 2020, he scored his first and only goal for the club in a 3-0 victory over
Genclerbirligi.
Return to Arsenal On 28 August 2020, Elneny was in the starting 11 in the
2020 FA Community Shield, which Arsenal clinched a 5–4 victory over
Liverpool in the penalty shootout after the match was 1–1 after 90 minutes. On 1 November 2020, Elneny put in an excellent display at the base of Arsenal's midfield alongside
Thomas Partey to render
Bruno Fernandes and
Paul Pogba ineffective and earn
Arsenal a first league win at
Old Trafford since 2006. Elneny was praised by manager,
Mikel Arteta after the game. While being away with Egypt during the International break in November 2020, it was confirmed by the Egyptian Football Association that Elneny tested positive for
COVID-19 but showed no symptoms. After his return, he scored his first goal of the season in a 4–2 victory over
Dundalk in the
Europa League on 10 December 2020. His stunning strike outside the box was voted as the runner-up of the Goal of the Month on Arsenal's official website, also later on winning goal of the season. Elneny then scored another screamer versus
Olympiacos on 11 March 2021, to keep Arsenal in the tie. On 2 May 2021, Elneny scored his first Premier League goal for Arsenal with a volley from the edge of the box in a game against
Newcastle United. On 24 May 2022, Elneny renewed his contract with Arsenal. On 21 February 2023, Elneny signed a new one-and-a-half-year deal with the club. On 17 May 2024, he announced that he would be leaving Arsenal at the conclusion of the 2023–24 season, after spending 8.5 years with the club.
Al Jazira On 30 July 2024, Elneny joined Emirati side
Al Jazira. In his debut season, he won the
UAE League Cup and was voted
UAE Pro League Player of the Season for
2024–25. ==International career==