Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny is confident the Gunners have the squad to compete across all four competitions this season, and believes the club will reach “the highest level” under manager Mikel Arteta.
The Egyptian played his first competitive minutes in an Arsenal shirt for over nine months after his significant knee injury, coming off the bench in the 82nd minute, in a well-earned 1-0 victory at Brentford in the Carabao Cup third round.
Another trip across the capital awaits the North London side, who travel east for their fixture against West Ham, and Elneny remains confident Arsenal have enough squad depth to take on all comers across four fronts this campaign.
After the final whistle at Brentford, the 31-year-old said: “It feels amazing to be back with the team and get the win to go into the next round. I have missed moments like these because it’s been a long time.
“We can see how good the players were today and everyone played well. We had Reiss tonight who came in and scored a goal. Everyone is ready to play, and we have enough numbers to play. We will play games every three days, and we need every player in the squad, and everyone has to be ready.”
Elneny, who is the club’s longest-serving player at present, having joined in January 2016, believes this current squad is very much “different” from ones he has previously been involved with. And he firmly believes that manager and former teammate Arteta has the Gunners on the right trajectory to reach new heights, as the club seek to build upon their second-place finish in the Premier League last season.
He said: ”Every moment is different. Before in the past, we had good teams, and now it’s a different team with different players and a different manager as well.
“I’m so happy for Mikel. He’s doing an amazing job for us and for this football club. If we keep going the way we are, we are going to reach the highest level as a squad.”
The Egyptian was also full of praise for teammate Aaron Ramsdale, who started in goal at Brentford after being dropped in favour of new arrival David Raya for the previous three matches. The England shot-stopper played notably well at the Gtech Community Stadium, and Elneny applauded the 25-year-old’s committed attitude in training over the past few weeks, despite his recent setback.
He said: “It’s a part of football: One day you play, and one day you’re on the bench, and you have to respect the decision. The coaches, of course know he [Aaron] is a professional player and he’s kept going until he’s had his moment tonight. Then you can see how good he was tonight, and of course I’m happy for him.
We actually work every day for [opportunities like] this. We just work really hard in training and we leave the decision to the coach to decide who’s playing, and who’s on the bench for the game, and we all have to respect that.”
Within the past year, the 31-year-old has been commended by Arteta as the “glue” in the Arsenal dressing room, and a crucial component in maintaining team morale and professionalism within the squad.
Despite facing a decreasing number of first-team minutes in central midfield, following the £105million summer signing of Declan Rice, and the January purchase of Italian international Jorginho, Elneny thoroughly enjoys his existing role in the first-team squad, and insists there is no “secret” to this unofficial position other than “100%” commitment in training and away from the pitch.
He said: “The secret? I’m always positive around the lads. That’s it. I try to bring everyone together and to make everyone feel positive in training, and in the dressing room.
“This is what I do every day. I come in with a smile on my face. When I train, I train really hard and off the pitch, I always try to give my best for the team as well.”
“It’s good, not just because of me, but it’s good to have everyone giving good energy when they’re getting ready to train and when they’re around each other. If the atmosphere is great between the players in the dressing room, it’s really good because that gives us everything we need as a team.”
