Dani Ceballos has hailed Mohamed Elneny as a "luxury player" after the Egyptian came on for the final 20 seconds in Arsenal's 3-1 win over West Ham United on Boxing Day.
The 30-year-old replaced Thomas Partey for the last few moments of the Gunners' comeback victory over David Moyes' men at the Emirates Stadium. Mikel Arteta's side found themselves behind at the break courtesy of Said Benrahma's penalty, before Arsenal fought back with a terrific second-half performance.
Bukayo Saka's strike saw them draw level, before Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah struck to turn the game on its head and give the Gunners all three points. It was a result that stretched their lead at the top of the table to eight points ahead of Manchester City's clash with Leeds United on December 28.
However, Ceballos decided to focus on an unsung hero after the game as he heaped praise on Elneny for how he conducts himself on a daily basis. Elneny has come on as a late substitute in the Gunners' last three Premier League matches dating back to before the World Cup break.
Ceballos tweeted: "Incredible professional, incredible teammate. More players like that in football. A luxury player for the Arsenal."
The duo played together at the Gunners during Ceballos' time at the Emirates Stadium after he joined on loan from Real Madrid for an initial 12 months in July 2019. The 26-year-old made 37 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal during his first season at the club as they lifted the Emirates FA Cup in the Covid-19 hit campaign, before Mikel Arteta convinced Ceballos to stay for a further year.
How do you rate Mohamed Elneny's time at Arsenal? Let us know in the comments below!
However, Ceballos returned to Real Madrid at the end of the 2020/21 season, having played 77 games for the Gunners in a topsy-turvy campaign in north London. He featured just 18 times for Los Blancos last term, although he did win a Champions League medal, having come on in the final against Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Elneny has been at the Gunners for seven seasons now following his move from Basel in January 2016, with Arsene Wenger keen to bring the midfielder to the club. He hasn't, however, been able to cement a regular place in the starting XI over the years, although he has periods of success when called upon.
He made 41 appearances for Arsenal in the 2020/21 campaign, with the majority of those coming alongside Ceballos in the base of that midfield. Despite sometimes receiving criticism from the Gunners faithful, Ian Wright lauded Elneny where he spoke about the impact he has had on the team.
"I don’t care whatever anyone thinks of Elneny, I think he is brilliant for us," Wright told Premier League Productions back in November. "To freshen it up a little bit, so you can get somebody that can control the game because, at the moment, we can’t as we would want to without Zinchenko being there."
"Someone like Elneny comes in and he can take care of the ball," he added.
