Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny has heaped praise onto manager Mikel Arteta for the way he masterminded the team’s 1-0 victory over Manchester United at the weekend.
The Gunners ended their long wait for a Premier League win at Old Trafford, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring the winner from the penalty spot in the second half to give them a deserved three points.
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United were surprisingly poor after recent impressive wins in the Champions League away to Paris Saint-Germain and at home to RB Leipzig.
Elneny says, however, that Arteta studied those games closely before deciding on his approach to the game against Man Utd, and that that was key for the players as they ground out the result.
“Arteta is very good at studying the opposition,” Elneny told beIN Sports, as quoted by the Metro.
“He gave us instructions on how to close down the spaces against Manchester United before the game to avoid what happened to Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig recently.
“We are happy with the victory because we won for the first time at Old Trafford since 2006 and it comes after two consecutive losses against Manchester City and Leicester.
“I am happier about the performance and I thank all my teammates for the level they performed at. We came here to win all three points and nothing else.
“I am confident in my abilities, and I do not care about the identity of the opponent as much as doing the best I can and what is always required of me on the pitch.”
Arsenal fans will be thrilled to hear this about their young manager, who was a risky appointment when he replaced Unai Emery last year.
The Spanish tactician was previously on Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff at Manchester City, but he’s impressed a lot in his first year in management.