Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has told Football.London that Mohamed Elneny deserved to play against West Ham United.
The Gunners claimed a 2-1 on Saturday evening, with Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah scoring either side of a Michail Antonio equaliser.
Arsenal weren’t exactly convincing, but they got the three points to make it two wins from two in the new Premier League season.
Arteta decided to make a key change in his midfield, and that saw Dani Ceballos brought into the side having been on the bench at Fulham.
Ceballos partnered Granit Xhaka in midfield, and was included to try and break down a West Ham side that came to frustrate.
That meant that Mohamed Elneny had to made do with a place on the bench against West Ham despite impressing against Fulham.
Arteta has now admitted that the Egyptian deserved to play against the Hammers, but just wanted to rotate his side and go with Ceballos for his ability on the ball.
Elneny – who didn’t even get off the bench on Saturday – may be seen as a more robust option in midfield, and Arteta didn’t rule out other midfield additions despite Elneny’s re-emergence.
“Mo [Elneny] he deserved to play again today but I wanted to rotate. It was a game that we had to attack their smaller spaces and the way they defend, to create situations with Dani in there. We are going to try and strengthen the team until the market is done,” he added.
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