Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta has praised 29-year-old Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny after the He extended his Arsenal contract by another year. claiming the Egyptian player is an important member of the Gunners squad.
Arsenal signed Mohamed Elneny from Swiss giant Basel in 2016. Elneny has spent a 6 years at the Emirates winning three trophies with the Gunners,i.e the FA Cup and two Community Shields. He also spent the 2019/2020 season at Beşiktaş.
Elneny has made 83 appearances for Arsenal in the Premier League since 2016. the 29-year-old was impressive for Arsenal in the second half of the Premier League campaign after the injury to Thomas Partey.
His contract was due to expire this summer and the Egyptian midfielder put pen to paper to sign a one-year contract with an option to extend for an additional year.
Reactions from Mikel Arteta and Sporting Director Edu.
MIkel Arteta said: “Mo is a really important part of the team,’ Arteta said. He brings endless energy, enthusiasm, and commitment to the team and is loved by everyone.
“He’s an important player for us on and off the pitch, a real role model to our younger players and I’m delighted he’s staying.”
Gaspar Edu continued: “Mo has an incredible mentality which is so important for our squad. He helps the team as much as he can every day.
“We are all very happy to have him with us as we look to build on what has been achieved this season.”
Mohamed Elneny’s reaction after the contract extension.
Speaking with Arsenal media he said: I“ love this club and I feel like part of this family.
“I want to continue at this amazing club and amazing family and I’m very happy and very excited for the future.
“I feel like when you play in one of the biggest teams in the world and you have an amazing family and the fans are amazing as well – they make me feel special.
“You feel like you are special to this club and this club is special for you. Of course, I want to stay here until I finish my career.”
Mohamed Elneny also showed appreciation to Mikel Arteta for the confidence he imposed on him.
He added: “I need to hear what he’s thinking about me and I always say to him, ‘Mikel, I appreciate what you’ve done for me.
“Because with Mikel I play more than I was before. I said to him, ‘Mikel, if you say to me that you want me to stay or you want me to leave, I’m going to do whatever you want.
“Then the way he spoke about me is something that makes me emotional.
“It was really good for me to hear it from Mikel, about the way I play and the way I’m happy with him and being positive. It’s incredible for me to feel this way from Mikel, from the club, and Edu. I’m really happy.”
He continued: “When I speak to my family I always say: “Arsenal deserves to be at the top, always”.
“This is what’s always, always in my head. I need to put Arsenal at the highest point because this is what we deserve.
“The way we train, the staff, you see everyone at Arsenal with the same mentality.
“Everyone needs to go to the Champions League, everyone needs to win the league. This is what we need, and this is what I love now from Mikel, and we push to be like this all the time.
“Of course, I need to be a part of this, of this project to win the league, to go to the Champions League – why not? Because we deserve it, and we are one of the biggest clubs in the world.”
