Elneny - Changing mentality has been key

By Lloyd Webb

Mohamed Elneny says that changing his mentality when he left Egypt helped him adapt to life in Europe.

The midfielder left El Mokawloon after five years to move to Switzerland to join Basel, where he gained Europa League and Champions League experience before signing for Arsenal in January.

Elneny has quickly established himself as a key member of the squad, but says his previous spell in Europe was an important stepping stone prior to his move to north London.

“It would have been very hard to move from Egypt to England straight away, especially to a big club like Arsenal,” he told Arsenal Player. “My time in Switzerland helped me a lot though.

“I wanted to take the step and play outside Egypt, given how I see football being played abroad. I believed that I could play abroad, so when it happened I was very happy because my dream started to become true. I was also pleased that I could take another step forward in my career.

“You have to change your mentality [when you move countries] to think like successful people. This is the mentality I have always wanted to achieve in my life.

"There weren't any big challenges because Basel is the biggest club in Switzerland. Everyone was very professional and they had solutions so there wasn’t any problems nor challenges that could face any player. Whenever I needed anything they helped me.

“I learned how to be punctual. Of course in Egypt we are [punctual], but there are small details we don't pay attention to which people outside Egypt do pay attention to. Also, I learned a lot about how to play in Europe and in the Champions League. I did all of this in Switzerland and then over here, it's just a case of applying what I learned.

“When I came to Arsenal, there were different ideas. If you went somewhere thinking you know everything, then you'll never learn. I gain experience and I always learn from people here because they are successful. Arsenal are one of the biggest five clubs in the world so they're definitely successful people. You have to listen to everyone here to gain their experience.”