Midfielder Mohamed Elneny who joined Arsenal last week from Swiss club FC Basel says is determined to enhance Egyptian football’s reputation by proving himself in the Premier League.
The 23-year-old spent three years with the Swiss club, making over 90 league appearances and winning three consecutive Super League titles.
Elneny is Arsenal’s first Egyptian player and he says he has a responsibility to prove that his country can produce top-class players.
I am very keen to work hard in the Premier League – that’s for my own reputation and Egypt’s reputation, and to show everyone that Egyptian players are capable of playing very well in the Premier League
“Every player would be so proud to play for Arsenal, if they were Egyptian or not Egyptian,” he told Arsenal Player. “Being the first Egyptian player to play for Arsenal is a great honour and that makes me very happy.
“I am very keen to work hard in the Premier League – that’s for my own reputation and Egypt’s reputation, and to show everyone that Egyptian players are capable of playing very well in the Premier League.”
Elneny began his senior career with El Mokawloon in the Egyptian Premier League.
An experienced Egypt international, he helped his country to the quarter-finals of the London Olympics in 2012.
Elneny never imagined that he would be playing for Arsenal when he was younger, but says that playing for 10 hours a day helped him prepare for the physicality of English football.
“My father is a football coach back home in Egypt in my town, Almahalah,” he said. “He has a big passion for football and he always made sure that I accompanied him at every match he had been to, and the training sessions as well. He always had the dream and loved to see me as a footballer.
“We would play in the hot weather for more than 10 hours sometimes. That is very normal in Egypt. I was the same as any Egyptian kid because we all have a very strong passion for football. We would head straight to the football grounds as soon as we left the classroom.
“My parents played a big role in creating this passion in me towards football and they encouraged me to play football. It is really nice and important to have such encouraging parents, I am really grateful to them.
“My mother, she would accompany me in every club I went to. Since I was born my parents wanted to see me as a footballer and they are behind this passion I have for football. I sensed their support at home. It’s really nice to see that they love your job or the job you love to do, and that really helped me a lot.”
New teammates have expressed their liking towards Elneny with Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud saying he is a ‘complete player’.
“I’ve trained with him and he’s a good player, very talented but first of all he is a good guy – I think he will settle well into the team,” Giroud told Arsenal Player.
We wish Mohamed Elneny all the best at Arsenal.
