Arsenal's midfielder Mohamed Elneny has expressed his great delight with his first ever Premier League goal in Sunday's 2-0 win over Newcastle, adding that he always asks his friends to pray for him to score in the prestigious competition. The 28-year-old Egyptian international, who first joined Arsenal six years ago, scored an early goal for the Gunners only six minutes from the start, giving his side an early lead in the game. "I was dreaming about it and I was really thinking so much about wanting to score in the Premier League," Elneny said in an interview with Arsenal's official website after the match. "I've scored in the Champions League, the Europa League, but not in the Premier League. This competition is really special for me and I always keep asking my friends to pray for me to score in the Premier League. Today, when I scored, I was really happy about the goal, but I am more happy to take three points," he added. The Pharaohs midfielder was included in Arsenal's starting lineup for the game against Newcastle United, making his 20th Premier League appearance with the Gunners so far this season. After breaking the deadlock at St James' Park, Arsenal players and all the technical staff members seemed delighted and showed huge support for Elneny. "This makes me happier. When you see the people around you love you, the way they celebrated with me today is something I'm so grateful for. I'm really happy," the former Basel FC player added. Arsenal await an important test against Spain's Villarreal in the UEFA Europa League's semi-final on Thursday and Elneny believes that Newcastle's win is a big boost for the Gunners. "I think today was something to give us more confidence, how to play, and win 2-0 away from home. Now we have cleared this one and we can focus on Thursday," he said. "I think everyone knows how important the game is for us. We're all ready for it, we're going to fight and we're going to give everything to make sure we go to the final," he concluded. Elneny, who spent the last season on loan at Turkish side Besiktas, was linked with a move away from Emirates stadium in the summer. However, he cemented his place in Arsenal's starting line-up with some impressive displays this season. Elneny, who joined Arsenal in the 2015 season, coming from Swiss side Basel FC, has made 37 appearances with the Gunners in all fronts so far this season, scoring three goals in all competitions, including two goals in the Europa League. Arsenal are in the 9th place in the English Premier League teams' table with 49 points, Newcastle lie in 17th place with 36 points. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
