Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger insists he's counting on Mohamed Elneny for this season.

Wenger singled out Elneny for praise as the Egyptian attempts to stake a claim after falling out of favour last season.

"Elneny is a player who has a fantastic mentality and attitude, and his main target is to help the team," Wenger told the club's official website.

"When he plays there, of course he does extremely well. Of course [he needs to learn the defensive side], but I always felt that a good central midfielder can be a good centre back.

"With the fact of course that when you're playing in the back four you have to be decisive in the challenges, you have a bit more flexibility in the middle of a back three. He can do that.

“Overall on tour, I played players like Elneny in a back three and he coped very well."