Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has insisted that he cannot promise Bernd Leno that he will play for the club this campaign.
Leno has been Arsenal’s starting goalkeeper ever since Petr Cech departed the Emirates. Despite having a bright start to life in North London, Leno’s form eventually tailed off to the put that his performances were put under the microscope.
Arsenal’s decision to bring in Aaron Ramsdale from Bournemouth over the summer was hardly a great show of faith in Leno from Mikel Arteta and Edu. It looks as though the German is now going to be phased out of the side.
Things are looking bleak for Leno on a personal level, with Arteta now, as quoted by the Daily Mail, telling the media that he will make no promises to any of his goalkeepers that they’ll be getting minutes on the pitch, Leno included:
“What I said to the goalkeepers in the last two or three years is that we don’t want to do that (make assurances).”
“What we want to do is empower performance and ask them to train, behave and play in the best possible way. How can I guarantee somebody to do something? It wouldn’t make sense with what we are demanding them to do.”
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“It’s on a daily basis. In football, what you did three months ago doesn’t count. It’s what you’re going to do today and tomorrow, and that’s it.”
Leno is a goalkeeper with a high standing in the game. Testament to that is his continual appearances in the Germany squad. He’s not a bad goalkeeper – it would be wrong to suggest to the contrary.
However, it is impossible to ignore that he has not been up to standard in recent times for Arsenal, hence why the club felt the need to take advantage of the summer market by splashing out on a new goalkeeper.
You imagine Leno and his team will wait and see how his situation develops between now and the January transfer window before making a definitive decision on his Arsenal future.