The arrival of Gabriel Jesus emboldened the supporters of Arsenal as they watched the Brazilian score two brilliant goals with the first coming within just 90 seconds of his arrival. It is still a small sample to go on, but it has not stopped some from seeing their confidence soar.
Not only the arrival of a world-class player at Arsenal but scoring a screamer can do wonders for someone’s confidence and Mohamed Elneny had the air of a man brimming with happiness after the 5-3 win over Nurnberg. He spoke after the game about the target of the club being as high as a title challenge.
“I think we pushed really hard to be top four last season but unlucky we didn’t make it,” said Elneny. “But this season we go again, and we try to win the league, to try to do as much as we can to put this Arsenal football club to the place they deserve.
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A bold statement, but it is clear one of the reasons behind the player’s ambitions feeling like a potential reality are the result of Gabriel Jesus' arrival. Elneny could not have been more complimentary about his new teammate.
“Big player, experienced player and he won the league with [Manchester] City. He has so many experiences in this league and we’re happy to have him,” Elneny explained with a widening grin. “He works really hard in training, and he shows how talented he is and how good he is and we’re glad we have him.”
Adding: “They [Jesus] are experienced, and they won the league, and they know how to win the league and they’re going to talk to us and tell us about the experience of how they won the league. Of course, we’re going to learn from him, and this is really good for us,” he said.
“We have someone who won the league, and we have him in the team now and we have the experience and in training, we’re going to learn from him. Of course, we’re going to push hard to go as far as we can.”
Realistically, Arsenal are going to need to finish the transfer window exceptionally strongly to have a hope of matching Manchester City and Liverpool. Presently, another top-four ascent seems the more realistic target.
Elneny is easily one of Mikel Arteta’s favourites in the squad and was relied on to fill the void of Thomas Partey when he suffered an injury at the end of last season. A midfielder is on the agenda in the window, but the Egyptian will surely still have a key role to play.
If he can perform like he did yesterday across the whole season, there might be few who can oust him from his spot. Arsenal need experience amongst this young group and Elneny has become a key component in providing it.
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