FEATURE: Was I wrong about Mohamed Elneny?

Dubai - Yasmine El Tohamy - As someone who has previously criticised Mohamed Elneny I received a barrage of messages after Arsenal’s impressive 1-0 victory over Manchester United; “Did you see Elneny yesterday?”, “Elneny masterclass today”, “Elneny was class yesterday”.

I have followed Elneny from the days he was in the Egyptian U23 Olympic squad and was delighted when he followed in Mo Salah’s footsteps and moved to Swiss champions FC Basel in 2013. From his early days at Al Mokawloon, it was clear he was an athlete and a hard worker on the pitch. It was even reported that he has a lung capacity of a long-distance runner, which could be attributed to his long journey into training as a youngster.

He joined FC Basel as an intelligent defensive midfielder, knowing when best to press, but soon he was moved into a box-to-box position and given guidance to get forward and contribute, which in the Swiss League and Europa League he did well, earning him a move to Arsenal.

However, with the new club came a new league and a new system under Arsene Wenger which didn’t suit Elneny. I’ve always felt he has never really been a “box-to-box” midfielder and that at Arsenal he was being played in a position which he didn’t know how to play in. At the same time, his performances for Egypt left a lot to be desired. Under Cuper and Aguirre, Elneny was played alongside another defensive midfielder Tarek Hamed which meant again he was being asked to be a box-to-box midfielder and support in attacking phases, which he struggled with. It was clear to see that Elneny was clueless on the pitch, but it was due to managers giving him the wrong guidance.

Elneny who did have the odd good performance for Arsenal was then sent out on loan to Turkish giants Besiktas at the start of the 2019/20 season and this is where things started to improve for Mo.

Firstly, at Besiktas, he played in the position that suited him the most, the pure defensive midfield role. He did not have to focus on providing assists or scoring goals, which he did very little of and his performances improved. He broke up play, disrupted the opposition with his intelligent interceptions and made quick, decisive and calm passes. Elneny also managed, for the first time since leaving FC Basel, to become a regular starter, playing 38 games in all competitions in his season-long loan. This consistency bolstered his confidence.

The second reason behind Elneny’s improvement is Mikel Arteta who has started playing Mo in the position that works best for him. He fits in with Arteta’s system of only having two centre midfielders and three centre-backs. Arteta has also helped build on Mo’s confidence by giving him a solid run of games in Europe and in the majority of league games. Mikel is a big fan of Elneny saying that having played with him at Arsenal he always knew his abilities and is glad everyone else is now appreciating it, and a number of ex-Arsenal players have also expressed their delight at the “new” Mo Elneny.

His partnership was Thomas Partey against United was excellent and for Elneny having someone to take some of the load off his shoulders helped him even more. I’ve felt whenever he played alongside Granit Xhaka he was always competing for the same positions on the pitch and neither of them were really providing anything. Thomas Partey was also excellent helping in the press and always being available for Elneny when he picked the ball up. Elneny felt no pressure to be creative within the team and all he was focused on was ball recovery. This was highlighted in the 91st minute when Mo Elneny produced an unbelievable solo press winning Arsenal a throw-in, during a vital part of the match. What is even more remarkable is that Elneny had played 90 minutes just 3 days before.

This season Elneny has slowly proven myself and others wrong which is a credit to his determination and grit. Times are exciting for Egyptian and Ghanian fans who could potentially see an African duo controlling the Arsenal midfield.