Arsene Wenger's glowing assessment of Mohamed Elneny was backed up by the Egyptian's display at Chelsea on Wednesday night.
The Arsenal midfielder helped his side secure a much needed 4-2 win at Stamford Bridge as he partnered Granit Xhaka at the base of midfield. Thomas Partey, normally as regular, is missing through injury which forced Elneny to step up with the Gunners looking to snap a three-game losing streak.
The Egyptian has been used sporadically by Mikel Arteta, starting for just the second time in the Premier League on Wednesday night. Elneny has only made 11 appearances in all competitions and is out of contract this summer but was on top form as the Gunners secured a surprise victory.
Arsenal added Elneny during Wenger's tenure, signing the midfielder from Basel in 2016. The 29-year-old has headed out on loan in search of more game time in the past, but he backed up comments made by his previous manager during the 4-2 success in west London.
“Elneny is a very strong and active player,” Wenger told beIN Sports previously. “He’s a player with a modern style of play and that always gives his best for his team. Elneny is a very tactically-useful player. He is very active inside the pitch and what strikes me the most is how he protects his team.
“His input within the team is great, not in terms of goal creation because he’s not the type to have the final touch before the goal. But because of how helpful he is in the build-up. Elneny’s style of play adds protection to the team.”
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Mikel Arteta had no doubt that the likes of Elneny, who have lacked regular minutes this term, would thrive given the chance from the start. The Spaniard's observations in training recently gave him faith regarding their selection as he underlined the commitment that exists within the north London outfit.
He said: "If you see the training session that we had on Sunday after the defeat, if you see Mo Elneny, Rob Holding, Nicolas Pepe, how they trained - I think it’s the reason why we won. I said to them before the game, to good people good things happen guys, and we have some really really good people in that dressing room.
"That shows in difficult moments when they are not involved, not in the good moments. They have performed today because of how they look after themselves and how much they care about the team."
