Arsene Wenger picks out three Arsenal players for praise after West Brom win

Goalscorer Alexandre Lacazette won all the plaudits but the French manager wanted to give a special mention to one of his defenders and an 'outstanding' midfielder

Evan Bartlett
Tuesday 26 September 2017 03:04 EDT
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Arsenal's players celebrate with Alexandre Lacazette after his second goal
Arsenal's players celebrate with Alexandre Lacazette after his second goal (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

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Arsene Wenger picked out three players for special praise after watching his Arsenal side beat West Brom 2-0 at the Emirates on Monday night.

The Gunners won thanks to a brace from Alexandre Lacazette but there was also a crucial goal line clearance from Nacho Monreal and a dominant midfield display from Mohamed Elneny also caught the manager’s eye.

“[Monreal and Elneny] were outstanding, both of them,” Wenger told the club’s website after the game.

“I am pleased for both of them of course, but especially for Elneny because he has not always played, but what he did tonight was very positive.

“The two of them are top players who have a fantastic mentality.”

Wenger also praised Lacazette for adapting to the Premier League so quickly and says the French striker has a lot more to offer than just goals.

Lacazette now has four goals in six league games. He became the first Arsenal player to find the net in his opening three home games in the league since 1988.

"He's not only a goalscorer, his link up play is good," Wenger added. "He fights as well, he's not fazed by the physical challenges that West Brom gave us and overall he looks to adapt quickly and very well.

"I took him off because he was tired. He had an opportunity to score a hat-trick but I gave him the penalty as well ... what you want is to win the game and not to take any gambles because if they come back to 2-1 it can be nervy," Wenger added.

Arsenal face BATE Borisov in Belarus in the Europa League on Thursday before hosting Brighton & Hove Albion in the league on Sunday.

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