Why Mohamed Elneny brings much needed balance to Arsenal’s midfield

Why Mohamed Elneny brings much needed balance to Arsenal’s midfield

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After being signed in January for a reported fee of £7.4 million, it took until March for new boy Mohammed Elneny to finally make his first full start for his new club Arsenal which happened to be against bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur in what was a baptism of fire for the Egyptian international.

With the Gunners in the midst of a form crisis and their title chances evaporating before their eyes, Arsene Wenger made a brave managerial decision to thrust Elneny into the starting lineup in a North London Derby that was billed as the biggest in over a quarter of a century.

In an attempt to find a solution to Arsenal’s dysfunctional midfield pivot, the 23-year-old replaced the out of sorts Aaron Ramsey in a last ditch attempt to re-kindle the Gunners season in what was a match the club simply could not afford to loose.

Elneny performed admirably, showcasing a calming influence in the face of a white-hot atmosphere inside White Hart Lane with the match played at a frenetic pace. Providing an abundance of energy, disciplined positional sense and a ploy to keep things simple in possession, Elneny’s presence immediately brought much need cohesiveness and solidity in an Arsenal side that had been seemingly sliced open by opposing teams with ease far too much this season.

Ever since the long-term injuries to the indispensable duo of Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin back in November, central-midfield has been a major achilles heal for Wenger, who was left with no choice but to deploy Ramsey next to Mathieu Flamini as the Gunners continually stuttered when the title was there for the taking due to the imbalance in centre of the park.

With Wenger reluctant to unleash the inexperienced Elneny at such a critical juncture of Arsenal’s domestic season, the former Basel man has had to bide his time, having to be content with starting births in the FA Cup against championship opponents in Burnley and Hull City. His patience was soon dually rewarded as he followed up his astute debut against Spurs with starts in the Gunners’ trips to Barcelona in the Champions League and Everton three days later.


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Elneny was superb against a rampant Barca side, accumulating a pass accuracy of 93%, completing three take ons and netting a sublime goal to draw Arsenal level just after half time. He also showed a willingness to defend, completing two tackles and three interceptions, as the visitors provided a much sterner resistance when many predicted the home side to run riot.

One of Elneny’s major assets is his enormous stamina, something the Egyptian built up when he was kid, playing on the streets for hours on end with his friends in his home town of El-Mahalla. He covered an astounding 12.85 kilometres at the Nou Camp that night, almost two kilometres more then his next furthest team mate Hector Bellerin and the most of either side.

In fact, no player has covered more ground in both the Champions League and the Europa League over the past two years then Elneny while his Basel side was still alive in both competitions, a testament to his everlasting aerobic capacity.

He followed up that gut-busting performance with another sound outing at Goodison Park, showcasing his supreme technical ability while covering every blade of grass and in the process virtually cementing a starting birth on Wenger’s team sheet, as Arsenal looked much more compact in midfield.

His fine performances in March led to Elneny winning Arsenal’s player of the month award, and its hard to disagree with the decision as he has been a breath of fresh air in a Gunners side that was crying out for a spark.

Elneny’s versatility to either playing as a box to box type or someone who can sit and screen gives Wenger some much needed midfield ammunition, and someone he can rely upon from a tactical perspective. His humble, modest and blue-collar nature makes him a manager’s dream, the sort of characters you want within your squad.

Arsenal’s team looks far better balanced with Ramsey operating on the right-hand side and tucking in to form a midfield three but taking up more advanced positions with Elneny and Coquelin providing the twin midfield axis.

With Cazorla and Jack Wilshere still sidelined, Elneny will be continue to be given opportunities in the Gunners midfield as he continues to adapt and improve with every match he plays. He has been one major positive to come from what looks to be another failed campaign for the Gunners, who currently sift 11 points adrift of leaders Leicester City with just seven games remaining.

It is a shame that the Egyptian was not bought in the summer as the North Londoners could have done with his services during Arsenal’s troublesome winter months. Elneny has made a big impression on the Arsenal squad and he looks to be another shrewd piece of business by Wenger, and with age on his side, he has the potential to have a long and distinguished career in North London.

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