Arsenal legend Martin Keown has heaped praise on the likes of Mohamed Elneny and Thomas Partey for their performance against Manchester United in the Premier League last night.
Both players were exceptional for the London club and they helped Arsenal dominate the midfield against the likes of Fernandes, Fred and Pogba.
The former Arsenal star claimed that he was fortunate enough to play alongside some fantastic midfield players at Arsenal and the Elneny – Partey partnership reminded him of Vieira and Gilberto Silva.
Keown said: “Arsenal had not won at Old Trafford since 2006. They had not beaten a Big Six side away from home since 2015, but Mikel Arteta broke both of those hoodoos on Sunday thanks to his dominant midfield two.
“I was blessed to play behind some outstanding pairings in an Arsenal shirt, including Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit and Vieira and Gilberto Silva.
“It’s an incredibly important job to act as that screen in front of the defence and Mohamed Elneny and Thomas Partey were solid here.
“There has been a lot of attention on Partey as the summer signing, but Elneny is matching his new team-mate’s quality in midfield. Arsenal have the best defensive record in the Premier League after conceding seven in as many games yet have played away at Old Trafford, the Etihad and Anfield. Arteta deserves credit for all of this.”
It will be interesting to see if the Arsenal duo can build on this and improve in the coming months.
Partey has been a very impressive signing for Arsenal since his arrival from Atletico Madrid but Elneny has been the surprise package this season.
The Egyptian has managed to completely reinvent himself under Arteta and he’s developing into a key player for Arsenal.
Arsenal were in desperate need of players who can screen the back four and Elneny has done just that. Partey has add power and technique alongside the Egyptian.
Partey is extremely press-resistant and he helps the team get out of tight situations with his intelligence and flair. He has been crucial in setting up attacks from the deep as well.
