Arsenal’s Egyptian king with a point to prove

With his first Premier League goal and a five-star performance against Newcastle, Mohammed Elneny leaves Mikel Arteta with a selection headache ahead of The Gunners Europa League semi-final on Thursday.

Elneny is primarily one of Arsenal’s rotation players. Of late, however, the midfielder has staked a claim for first team involvement with a number of consistent performances.

The defensive midfielder managed to score his first league goal on Sunday, after five seasons at Arsenal without a league goal. The goal came early on in the game, with Elneny pouncing on a miss-hit shot from his captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, striking a powerful volley into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Elneny went close to doubling his Premier League goal tally before half time, as he flicked a header towards the far post from a corner, only to be denied by Ciaran Clarke who blocked the shot on the line, preventing the Egyptian from extending The Gunners’ lead.

The Elneny goal wasn’t just huge on a personal level. It was revealed earlier in the week that Arsenal have scored the least number of goals in the Premier League from midfield this season, with only two goals coming from that area of the pitch. Arteta will hope Elneny can lead by example with his strike and that his goal will encourage midfield partners to take more chances in and around the box.

Goals isn’t all that Elneny brings to his game, as he continues to put his body on the line for Arsenal week-in-week-out without fail. He was still chasing after every loose ball even after 90 minutes on Sunday and never once shirked his defensive responsibilities.

Last season Elneny was loaned out to Turkey, where he revived his career in a strong Besiktas team who finished in third place. The midfielder brought his form with him back from Turkey, as he started the campaign in excellent fashion.

Elneny’s highlights of the season so far will no doubt be his Europa League success, as he has featured in every match so far for The Gunners and will hope to push this form through to the final. The midfielder may only feature from the bench on Thursday however, after he played the full 90 on Sunday, perhaps an indication that he won’t start in Thursday night’s crucial clash against Villareal.

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