Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has told the club’s official website how he has been very impressed by Mohamed Elneny in training for his side.
Elneny may only be a rotational player at Arsenal, but he is someone who has clearly earned the respect of Arteta.
It was widely expected that the Egyptian would depart the club last summer, but Arteta has kept him around and used him fairly regularly this season.
The 28-year-old, who scored in Arsenal’s last Europa League game, has made 30 appearances for the Gunners, across all competitions.
And Arteta has spoken about just how hard Elneny works in training to impress, as he has been staying behind so often to work with Steve Round on his long-range shooting.
“Well, [that goal] was really important for the team because it puts the draw in a much better place for us so it was a crucial goal,” he said.
“I’m extremely happy with him because he works really really hard every day, he’s been practising in training with Roundy quite a lot, his range shots. He totally deserved it. When you practise, at the end you get rewards and I’m happy that Mo did that.”
Elneny could be in with a chance of starting for Arsenal tomorrow evening.
Arteta’s side are set to face Olympiacos in the Europa League, and changes will surely be made to their line-up.
Arsenal are already 3-1 up on aggregate and although they will want to guard against complacency, they are in a seriously commanding position of the tie now.
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