Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Elneny has told Arsenal Player about his transition into the club after his January move.
The 23-year-old has made three appearances since his £7m move from Swiss club Basel, two of which have been FA Cup ties.
Despite being a highly experienced international with 39 national team caps, as well as being a cornerstone of the Basel midfield, Elneny has said that joining Arsenal is like ‘starting over’.
The midfielder claimed that he is learning new things every day.
Of course, each period has its own experiences and is unique, but when I came here it’s as if I’m starting over.
I need to learn from the people here. This is the best club in the world so I need to learn how the people here move, see things, think about things. These are all experiences I hope to learn from.
The Egypt international amassed 24 combined UEFA Europa League and Champions League appearances for former club Basel and Elneny went on to describe the sheer scale of these matches.
When we were little in Egypt we would watch Arsenal, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona and then all of sudden I was playing against them [for Basel].
In my first season, I played against Zenit and Tottenham, and all of these teams we would watch on TV.
We knocked Tottenham out of the Europa League and got to the semi-final. Before I was watching these people on TV then I was knocking them out of a tournament. Last season it was Real Madrid and Basel who qualified to the round of 16.
We beat Liverpool to qualification. They went to the Europa League and we carried on in the Champions League. So once you start knocking out the teams you watched on TV, your dreams start to grow, you realise that they are players just like you and that you are at the same standard.
Elneny may be in line for a first Premier League start for the Gunners on Wednesday evening as Arsenal host Swansea. The midfield came under particular fire after Sunday’s crushing 3-2 loss against Manchester United at Old Trafford, so with limited viable alternatives the former Basel man may have the chance to prove himself as Arsenal look to get to get their title charge back on track.
