Arsenal legend Martin Keown has praised Gunners midfielder Mohamed Elneny as being like a new signing for the club after his superb performance against Manchester United.
The Egypt international was one of Arsenal’s best players at Old Trafford, as Mikel Arteta’s side earned their first win away to Man Utd in 14 years, and their first against any big six side since 2015.
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Elneny has been at Arsenal for a while now without making much of an impact, and few would have expected him to have much of a future at the Emirates Stadium after he went out on loan to Besiktas last season.
Surprisingly, however, Elneny returned to the Arsenal first-team fold this summer and has become a key part of Arteta’s side with some solid midfield displays.
Keown was impressed with the 28-year-old’s impact against United, writing in his column on BBC Sport about how much of a boost his improvement has been for Arteta.
“It was in midfield where Arsenal took control of the game, and that was mainly down to Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny,” Keown said.
“The Gunners have struggled in that area in the past, but Partey is looking like a very good signing and Elneny has made such an improvement that it feels like he is a new addition too.
“Elneny appeared to be on his way out of the club before Arteta took charge at the end of last year. I like the way Arteta has given him another opportunity – and also how the Egyptian has taken it.
“It is still early days, but Partey and Elneny worked really well together here and it could be the start of a really productive partnership, at least in the short term.
“There was talk that Arteta wanted Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar in the last transfer window as well as Partey.
“Aouar might provide a bit more creativity in there too in the future but, for now, being solid is a good place to start.”