Kevin Campbell has urged Mikel Arteta to continue with Mo Elneny as partner to Thomas Partey in his Arsenal midfield.
The manager opted to start with both of the above against Manchester United in the win on Sunday, and the partnership excelled, as did the Egyptian midfielder.
Elneny was signed by Arsene Wenger in 2016, but was used sparingly over the years, and was told in the summer of 2019 that he could leave the club.
Luckily for us, we have since replaced Unai Emery with Arteta, who has seen the potential in returning the 28 year-old to the first-team, and he has impressed.
Former Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell now believes that he is the ideal partner for Partey, having proven once again that he can impress against the bigger sides.
‘Elneny compliments Thomas Partey, because Partey can do everything, but he needs somebody with him who can pick up the slack,’ Campbell told YouTube channel Highbury Squad.
‘We’ve seen him play with [Granit] Xhaka and [Dani] Ceballos, sometimes it looks alright and sometimes it hasn’t worked.
‘This is twice with Elneny now, and it’s looked really good.
‘Elneny, yeah, he’s a squad player, but nobody can tell me anymore he cannot play in the big games. He’s proved it against the [Paul] Pogba’s of this world, [Nemanja] Matic, Fred, Bruno Fernandes he’s played against them all now, Liverpool, and proven that he can cut it.
‘So, put some respect on the man’s name.
‘Him and Thomas Partey dovetail perfectly. They compliment each other. Both have got good energy.
‘I’m not saying every game Elneny’s going to play, but you’ve got to give credit where it’s due. These guys are absolutely awesome.’
Elneny appears to be treated like a player who is over the hill, but at 28 he should still only be nearing his peak. We at JustArsenal have defended his ability on a number of occasions, and are just thankful that he is finally getting the chance we believed he deserved all along.
Did our previous managers fail to give him a fair shot, or did he simply not fit into the systems they wanted in place?
Patrick
He has absolutely earned his spot. I’ll be honest that I’m not 100% convinced he can keep performing at this level and thus may lose his spot; however, it’s his spot to lose.
Additionally, in a condensed season like this, we need rotation. Xhaka, ceballos, William and AMN should and will be given minutes in the middle.
Lastly, that was a game with two in the middle. We will hopefully play quite a few games with a midfield 3. We need to see if elneny thrives in that system.
A lot to be sorted yet but at this time, Elneny has staked his claim for a first 11 spot! I’m Shocked, impressed and delighted!
**willock**
Please stop mentioning willock in this mix, it’s annoying. We now have the real midfielders in Partey and Elneny then Aaour to come in January. All these willock, Nelson bla bla bla is just a joke, they will all end up in lower teams like iwobi and walcot. Among our young players we only need Saka and Martinelli.
Campbell is correct on this occasion.I’m not concerned how previous Managers views Elneny, all I know is that he and Partey should start together against Villa.In terms of the game against Molde, I suspect Arteta will revert to a 4-3-3 system with Ceballos,Xhaka and Willock in midfield.The last names deserves to play after his impressive display against Dundalk.
After the Utd game we have played away at Anfield, Etihad and Old Trafford. Then Leicster at home and are 2 points off 2nd with the best defensive record so far. Kudos to the players and management.
Yes we lost 3 out of the 4 above but the performances were better and we should not have lost to City or Leicster and can take positives from it.
Elneny has been a revelation under Mikel, Gabriel has made us solid and Thomas has brought the steel in the middle we have lacked since Patrick.
These 2 have a Vieira & Gilberto feel to them, I am Just comparing to what we know was best at Arsenal.
Auba needs to play Centrally with 2 wingers aside of him though Lacas hold up play was immense v Utd.
Nice to see progress and understand what’s been said when we hear “Trust the process”. I think we all are starting to see difference in mentality in this team after our 2 cup wins which none of us saw coming when Mikel arrived. Well done Mikel Arteta.
Well said Sean. It’s early days and I don’t want to overhype Elneny. His style of play does remind me of Gilberto. Perhaps not as good defensively, but quite similar and slightly more attack minded
I don’t see why we should be looking elsewhere, when we have a player who has developed under the vision and coaching of MA and, despite it being early days, we can all see, surely, that he is a vast improvement on the player we loaned out under UE?
He is being judged from previous seasons but this is a new system that he is adapting and starring in.
He will save the club millions and just one of the so called “dross” players, who are proving certain fans wrong once again.