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Mohamed Al-Nani has started 3 matches out of 4 that Arsenal have played so far in the English Premier League. A simple statistic that reflects the importance of the Egyptian player to coach Mikel Arteta.

After the end of his loan with Besiktas in Turkey; Al Nani returned to Arsenal, and doubts remain about his continuation with the London team. But Artetas previous knowledge of his potential – when the duo played together during Arsene Wenger’s tenure – made the current Spanish coach and his former teammate give him a chance.

When asked about his fate, Arteta said about Al-Neni: “I know him well. I played with him in the past and I know what he can do and what his strengths and weaknesses are.”

“He has a positive personality and good potential. He will get the full support and the most appropriate environment to perform at the best performance,” he added.

Artetas statements were before the Liverpool match in the Charity Shield match, a match in which Al Nani participated and presented a different image from his previous form, as his passes were more positive and he completed 48 passes out of 52 and extracted the ball twice.

But some attributed the participation of the Nene to the lack of options for Arteta in the midfield, and the absence of Danny Ceballos, who returned to Real Madrid after the end of his loan, and the two clubs had not yet agreed to renew it, especially since press reports indicated that Turkish clubs were targeting the contract with him in addition to what was mentioned in the newspaper “Daily Mail.” “The British expressed the intention of Arsenal to dispense with the ni in order to save money for the recruitment of Thiago Alcantara from Bayern Munich. (See details)

However, the participation of the Nene continued, and the Fulham match began as well, and from here he began to gain Artetas confidence.

After the match, Arteta said about Al-Nani: “Today was exceptional,” so why did he say that?

Follam’s policy in the match did not depend on pressure on Arsenal’s players; So the team needed to not send the ball forward and deal with defense. Al-Nani was the fourth most passer of the ball after the three-line defense, with 64 assists, with 93% accuracy.

He also contributed to the first goal when he sent a long ball to Aubameyang behind the defense and shortened Arsenal by several passes in the middle of the Fulham conglomerate.

Even in the third goal, he fulfilled his role in preparing the attack for Arsenal, when he returned to receive a pass from Rob Holding and pulled with him a support from Fulham and then passed it to Hector Bellerin until it reached Welian and changed the field to Obamyang; In a series of consecutive passes you always appear for Arsenal to score.

But Alnani missed the next match against West Ham, explaining Arteta: “He deserved to participate, but I wanted to rotate in the formation, and I pushed Sebaeus to create offensive positions in light of the way West Ham plays.”

What Arteta said, he learned well from him and applied it in the Sheffield United match, which he participated in next to Ceballos, and Xhaka sat on the bench.

Until the 61st minute, Sheffield was a solid defense; But as Nene moved forward, things changed and Bocayo Saka shook Aaron Rumsdale’s net.

Here the Nene advanced without anyone supervision and received Willian’s pass.

And with a touch that gave him the ball, Nene passed the ball to Obamyang among the Sheffield United players; And he moved to receive the ball again, but it reached Pelerin, who sent a cross that dealt with Saca.

Looking at the numbers, we find that the Nene outperforms Xhaka in the situations that lead to Arsenal aiming at the goal.

The Nene creates two shooting positions in each match, whether from a pass he provided to a teammate or from a dribble he took in exchange for Xhakas 1.34 stops.

Another thing that Nene outperforms Xhaka is pressing the ball carrier.

Within 90 minutes, Al Nani presses the opponent’s player 13.3 times and succeeds at 4.33 by 32.5%. The places of pressure are 5 times in the center of Arsenal’s defensive stadium, 6.33 in the middle of the field, and 2 in the center of the opponent’s stadium.

As for Xhaka, he presses 6.92 times and succeeds in only 1.54, by 22.2%, and places 1.92 from the center of Arsenal’s stadium, 3.85 from the midfield and 1.15 from the opponent’s midfield.

What Al-Nani offers made him one of the main plans of Arteta, and it seems that the midfielder of our team did not want to leave Arsenal when he returned to him and gave everything he had.

Arteta previously said: “Nani has been excellent since today for him in training.”

As for Nene, it seems that he only needed confidence to play without reservation and be able to guide his teammates on the field.

“He always talks to me and says things to me like we need you on the team, and he always gives me good reactions and pushes me to do the best,” Alnni says of Arteta.

Artetas knowledge of the Nene potential up close when they played together in the past caused him to be part of his plans for the current season, and it seems that the Nene still has a lot to offer under Artetas leadership.