Mikel Arteta says Mohamed Elneny is ‘pushing everybody’ in Arsenal training

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta raved about Mohamed Elneny following his early return from injury against FC Zurich last night.

The Gunners were made to work hard by the Swiss giants at the Emirates. Kieran Tierney’s solitary goal sealed the win in the end, but Elneny’s return is one of the biggest positives of the night for Arsenal and Arteta.

Mikel Arteta says Mohamed Elneny is ‘pushing everybody’ in Arsenal training

Elneny is by no means Arteta’s first-choice starter in the Premier League, but he is a hugely important member of Arsenal’s squad.

The Egyptian is the Gunners’ only natural alternative to Thomas Partey. He showed how important he is to the club at the end of last season, and Arteta’s delighted to have him back in the squad.

Elneny took his tally for the season to 163 minutes yesterday. He clearly wasn’t at his absolute best last night, but that’s normal after a long-term injury – especially when he has returned to action a month earlier than expected.

Arteta said about the £5 million (BBC) man, as quoted by Arsenal.com: “He was really good. He’s been out for eight weeks, we expected him to be out for 12 weeks, he had an amazing recovery.

“He’s a guy that has been pushing everybody around the training ground to be ready as quick as possible and today, I think he competed really well.”

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Elneny’s return is a humongous boost for Arsenal.

The Gunners have been extremely light in central midfield. Partey and Granit Xhaka are Arteta’s first choice in the middle of the park, while Albert Sambi Lokonga is the only other alternative Arsenal have apart from Elneny.

It has been really difficult for the Gunners to manage most of this season with just three central midfielders. Now that Elneny is back, they have the cover they need to give their star players a rest when required.

Arsenal take on Chelsea on Sunday and Elneny is expected to be in the squad. He will likely get a run out at Stamford Bridge at some stage, especially if things go to plan for the Gunners.