Mohamed Elneny says one of the first things he learned from Arsene Wenger after joining Arsenal was to shoot less from distance.
Elneny was Arsenal's only January signing and has quickly become a regular in central midfield for the Gunners in recent months. But the 23-year-old, who scored several goals from distance for Basel in the first half of the season, says he's had to adjust that part of his game to fit in with Arsenal's style of play.
"I used to shoot a lot when I was at Basel but sometimes that doesn't suit our style here," Elneny said in an interview with the May edition of Arsenal Magazine. "[Wenger] taught me to be more of a team player and to be intelligent in terms of when I shoot. I also paid attention to my teammates and took their advice. That has helped me to improve my performances already."
Arsenal have struggled to score from outside the box this entire season, and had only netted twice from long range in the Premier League before Alexis Sanchez doubled that tally against West Brom last week. Elneny's only goal for Arsenal so far came with a well-placed shot from just outside the box against Barcelona in the Champions League.
Arsenal players are sometimes criticised by fans and pundits for not taking enough shots from long range and eager shouts of "shoot!" usually ring out around the Emirates every time Elneny gets the ball in a promising area.
The Egypt international has taken just eight shots in as many Premier League appearanes, but just one of them was on target.
Elneny said he started watching Arsenal games before joining the club to learn their style of play, and that Wenger has helped him adapt to the team.
"The most important thing for me has been listening to Arsene Wenger's advice and putting it into action," he said. "The manager has been giving me advice since the first day I arrived at the training ground. He always talks to me about the game and my position and that gave me a lot of confidence. He often instructs me to press the opponent and not give them time on the ball in our half. He's also helped me to understand the system and playing style he prefers to see us playing."
Elneny hasn't been able to prevent Arsenal's title hopes from derailing as the Gunners are fourth in the league with three games remaining, without a chance to catch leaders Leicester. But the midfielder hopes next season will be more successful.
"If it's not meant to be this season, we need to work hard and fight to win the title next year," he said. "Personally I am here to help Arsenal win trophies. We want to make the fans happy and bring back the golden times."