Arsene Wenger words on Mohamed Elneny following Community Shield

Arsene Wenger, the former Arsenal manager, has admitted that Mohamed Elneny is a fantastic team player following the Gunners’ win over Liverpool at Wembley on Saturday.

Having seen Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s stunning opener cancelled out by Takumi Minamino’s second half leveller, Arsenal sealed the Community Shield on penalties, winning 5-4, with Aubameyang netting the decisive kick.

Victory over Jurgen Klopp’s Reds was another statement of intent shown by the Gunners, who continue to go from strength to strength under Mikel Arteta’s management.

It was the club’s second trophy inside less than a month, of course, following their FA Cup triumph over Chelsea at the very start of August.

Arteta’s starting line-up against Liverpool certainly wasn’t the strongest that he could have fielded, with the likes of Bernd Leno, Willian, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette all absent from the starting line-up, but it was good enough to get the job done.

And one man who did stand-out for the Gunners was Egyptian midfielder Elneny, who is trying to force his way back into the Spaniard’s plans after spending last season on loan at Turkish giants Besiktas.

The Egypt International did not put a foot wrong in the engine room, delivering an assured display alongside Granit Xhaka in the middle of the park.

And after such a solid showing, he earned praise from former Gunners boss Wenger, who admitted that he is a “credit” to any Egyptian.

“He is a fantastic team player and he is a credit to your country if you are Egyptian,” Wenger admitted. “He is a fantastic boy, we love him here.”

Since joining Arsenal back in 2016, the central-midfielder has racked up 90 appearances for the club, scoring two goals and registering eight assists.