Chelsea 2-4 Arsenal: 4 talking points as top four dream stays alive

Mohamed Elneny Derby Masterclass

When the team news dropped there could be a collective sigh of angst from the Arsenal supporters. Mohamed Elneny was starting, having not done so in four months.

Often seen as the scapegoat, the Egyptian tonight was superb.

While not flashy, he did the dirty work and stuck to task, constantly being available for a pass and regularly getting in between Chelsea and their forays forward. He has been known to produce a performance like this on occasion and tonight, the 29-year-old was superb alongside Granit Xhaka.

After the break he won every tackle, every duel, blocked every pass and was on every occasion in the right place in the box to clear the danger.

Like Nketiah, Elneny is likely to keep his spot for the United game next up, and based on what we saw tonight, he can do exactly what he did at Stamford Bridge: keep the side ticking over, not do anything rash and be defensive cover for the back four.

Credit where it is due, Elneny went under the radar tonight as others in Nketiah and Saka will get the plaudits, but one could argue that the Egyptian’s game was equally as important to Arsenal’s win.

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