Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang says one Arsenal player’s display on Sunday left him in disbelief

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Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has waxed lyrical about Gunners teammate Mohamed Elneny, who has shone since returning to the Emirates Stadium this summer.

Prior to this season, the Egypt international had made just 46 appearances for the North Londoners since joining from Swiss outfit FC Basel in 2016 for a reported £7million.

Last term, on Unai Emery’s watch, Elneny left Arsenal for a season-long loan at Besiktas, becoming a mainstay of their squad and making 36 appearances in all competitions.

Despite his fruitful stint in Turkey, few would have expected the 28-year-old to become an important first-team player for Arsenal, given his prior bit-part role at the Emirates.

However, Mikel Arteta gave Elneny an opportunity in pre-season and he seized it in style, culminating in nine competitive Gunners appearances this term so far.

The midfielder was especially impressive against Manchester United at the weekend, constantly chasing and pressing the opposition en route to a 1-0 win.

“It was also a fantastic performance in midfield from Mo,” Aubameyang told the Arsenal media team for the matchday programme ahead of the Europa League meeting with Molde.

“I think his loan spell was good for him – to go out and get some more experience. He came back with that experience and that’s really important too. How he’s been playing since he came back is just unbelievable.

“His sprint at the end of the game… I don’t know how he did that! That is the energy he has, that’s what we want as a team and everyone here really wants to play that way. We want to give everything, in every minute and that’s exactly what Mo is doing.”

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Bringing Elneny back into the fold was a bold decision from Arteta and one that initially left some Arsenal fans with raised eyebrows.

It proved a great call, one which has reaped dividends and, given Arteta has done so with a player on Arsenal’s books, it’s cost him nothing.

Arsenal legend Gilberto Silva told France Football in April that he thought Elneny was the closest thing the Gunners currently have to him or Patrick Vieira.

At the time, such comments may have not been taken seriously given Elneny’s prior struggle for minutes at Arsenal, but it looks as though both Silva and Arteta have been proven right.