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
