Almost all Arsenal fans were waiting to see Elneny play, which finally took place this Saturday in a FA Cup tie against Burnley. Many pundits believe that Elneny made a decent debut and there was nothing special in his first match as Arsenal player. All of us would agree to it, but there were some latent aspects to his game which have not been discussed until now.
1. Has Potential to Play More Attacking:-
Although the Egyptian midfielder started the game as a defensive midfielder along with Francis Coquelin, he took the opportunity to go forward whenever possible, instead of just lying deep. Even a few occasions he was able to carve out some important passes to other 4 attacking players. Even his approach was positive during the game as he simply tried to move the ball forward, whenever possible. Besides this he was also able to manage 2 shots on target and in all managed 5 shoots. Which proves that he isn’t afraid of taking shots. So considering the frequency of injuries arsenal suffers with, he might turnout to be handy.
2. He is Confident and Can Become A Leader:-
Season after season we here that Arsenal lack the steel. They almost every season slip after getting in winning position. Even if considering the smaller aspect until last season, Arsenal used to regularly drop point from winning positions, even in easy fixtures. So that simply leads us to the conclusion that Arsenal need a player who can be a leader and help them in defining their season. In yesterday’s game we observed that Elneny was very freely providing positional instructions to players like Alexis Sanchez and Rosicky, who are quiet more experienced than him. Although Arsenal has observed such a quality in players like Flamini and Wilshere but it didn’t last long in them. Where Elneny seems to be quiet sound tactically and also seems to be calm and composed player.
3. An Intelligent Player:-
Most of the people consider defensive midfielders to be high on skills and low on intelligence. But in this case the story is a completely different. Everyone must have noticed that he had the maximum touches of the ball(100) during the game
and he even passed the ball around superbly as his pass completion rate was 96%. But most of us failed to notice that he made most of the physical tackles outside their own half or just inside it. He also did not make any unnecessary or silly challenges. So if he settles well into the team he might turn out be another weapon in Arsenal’s arsenal.
Just to sum up the things I would say that £5 Million for the former Basle star might prove out to be a bargain, if he settles well into the squad. Some fans have also tweeted that he eventually might evolve into next Viera (I know that’s too much expect but who knows!).
