Elneny sparks promising start
Mohammed Elneny made his Arsenal debut on Saturday afternoon in the fourth round of the FA Cup against Burnley, after his £5 million move from FC Basel.
The defensive midfielder seemed solid in the middle of the park for Arsenal, keeping things simple and ensuring the play ran smooth for the Gunners.
Saturday was not a huge test for the Egyptian, but there will be many more to come in the near future.
Calum filled with confidence
The youngster was restored in his familiar right-back role on Saturday as he stepped in for Hector Bellerin, who was rested on the bench.
Chambers had a good game and impressed going forward, opening the scoring with a stunning outside of the boot strike in the first half.
The performance will have done wonders for his confidence.
Arsenal's FA Cup form continues
Without a loss in 14 FA Cup rounds now, Arsenal enter the fifth round draw, preparing to defend the trophy for the third season running, keeping it in north London.
The Gunners have fought off some serious contenders in the last couple of seasons in the FA Cup, including Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United away from home.
As the Reds enter the next round of the competition, they will be one of the favourites to lift the trophy once again in May at the famous Wembley Stadium.
Good squad rotation from Wenger
For Saturday’s tie against Burnley, Wenger saw it as an opportunity to rotate the team around a bit, and dished out many opportunities.
He started his changes at the back, replacing Petr Cech with David Ospina, opting for Calum Chambers rather than Bellerin, and also rested Nacho Monreal, giving Kieran Gibbs the go ahead. Gabriel also started ahead of the suspended Per Mertesacker.
In midfield, he started with Chilean Alexis Sanchez, who made his first start since returning from his injury, and also gave Mohammed Elneny his debut, whilst also starting the impressive Alex Iwobi, for his first start as a Gunners player. Mesut Özil and Aaron Ramsey were too rested, ahead of Arsenal Premier League tie against Southampton on Tuesday.
Another huge boost for Arsenal was the return of Francis Coquelin. He seemed to still have a couple of minor problems on his first appearance back, but hopefully nothing too serious or worrying.
Key performers
Alex Iwobi
The youngster stood out for the Gunners in the FA Cup tie. The winger was highly active the majority of the game, winning tackles, working hard defensively, making runs down the wing and leading some of the attacks. All round a good, solid performance from the fast improving academy player.
Alexis Sanchez
He certainly didn’t have his best game in an Arsenal shirt against Burnley, but what was so key about his performance was that it proves he is now 100% fit, ahead of the business end of the season. The Chilean has been out injured since November and returned on Saturday with a goal, which helped Arsenal to proceed to the next round.
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