Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger has praised the skills of Egypt midfielder Mohamed Elneny after an impressive performance against West Ham on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old midfielder made his fourth starting appearance since the beginning of the year after being away with the Pharaohs in the African Cup of Nations, then struggling with injuries.

With Santi Cazorla out and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Aaron Ramsey having just recovered from injuries, Wenger had to field Elneny and Granit Xhaka in central midfield.

"He gives us fluency. Elneny is a continuity player who is a generous player and wants to help the team," Wenger told reporters on Thursday.

"His attitude is always to help the team and he is always available. It’s a quality. He’s quickly available. There are two kinds of availability in midfield; ones who straight away in a fraction of seconds can understand where he has to go to get the ball and these kind of players," he concluded.

The Gunners have been missing the key role of Cazorla in linking defence to midfield to attack. Yesterday, Elneny made the connection, but is yet to show consistency to earn the confidence of his coach in maintaining that role permanently.

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