Demoted Arsenal keeper Bernd Leno does not rule out changes

Soon only number three?

Goalkeeper Bernd Leno has made 125 appearances for Arsenal FC since his €25m transfer in 2018 – but the 30-year-old has only played once for the Gunners in the Premier League in the past eight months. In an interview with the portals “Spox” and “Goal” the nine-time German national player talks about his demotion, thoughts of a change and the speculation about a return to his former club Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

After three straight defeats and 9-0 goals, Leno lost his regular spot between the posts in September 2021 to 23-year-old Aaron Ramsdale, who just days earlier had left second-tier Sheffield United for a fee of €28m had been committed. Since then, the native of Bietigheim has been on the sidelines on the Thames. “It was a setback and a bitter moment. (…) I don’t want to say that I was a pawn, but when the results aren’t right, things sometimes happen quickly in football. The coach wanted to set a new impulse – and then the results came. That was bitter for me because I had held up well before that. I had never experienced anything like this in my career before,” reports Leno.

He had to accept Mikel Arteta’s decision, even if it wasn’t easy for him: “In the end he said that the results weren’t right and that he wanted to bring in new players. And when the results are right, it is of course also logical that you don’t change so much in a well-rehearsed team.” Leno was “clearly communicated” by the Spaniard that the personnel decision had nothing to do with his performances to date have. “I had always played well in the years before and was hardly ever injured. That hits you,” said the keeper. However, in view of the new situation, he does not want to “feel sorry for himself”, but looks to the future: “My aim is to always play, I know what I can do. I’m not 20 anymore where I could maybe say, ‘I still have time’.”

Contract until 2023: Arsenal goalkeeper Leno does not rule out changes in the summer

It is unclear when and where he will have the opportunity to do so. Leno’s working paper at the Premier League club expires the summer after next, after Manuel Neuer he is the most valuable German goalkeeper with the contract ending in 2023. If Arsenal FC are considering selling, they could probably only generate a reasonable fee in the coming transfer window. Under normal circumstances, Ramsdale, who meanwhile also celebrated his national team debut with the “Three Lions”, seems unavoidable – Arsenal have already signed US international goalkeeper Matt Turner for the coming season.

An early departure from London would also be conceivable for Leno: “You can’t rule anything out anyway. I’m 30 years old, so you might think that despite your ambition and impatience, you might be a little more relaxed about a topic like this. Of course there are always requests. But like I said, it’s all about playing here. That’s my first claim. If the club plans otherwise, they have to come to me. Of course, my agency and I keep an eye on the situation.”

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Arsenal FC 21% bay Leverkusen premier league Bundesliga

For the time being, Leno dismisses the recent speculation in the English media about a return to Bayer 04 Leverkusen: “I’ve read that too, but I don’t know anything about it. It was also said that I really wanted to go back to my home country, but that’s not true. As I said: We feel completely at home here, even if things aren’t going that way for me at the moment.” Some users in the TM rumor mill also have little faith in a possible transfer to the Werkself: “Lukas Hradecky is a very good goalkeeper, so you need it you don’t have Leno. As long as he’s there, there’s no need,” writes Pau Torres, for example. User “Borsi1988” counters: “Hradecky made too many mistakes in important games. Leno would be warmly welcomed by a great many fans.”

Lukas Hradecky is a very good goalkeeper, you don’t need Leno for that. As long as he is there, there is no need. Other Bundesliga clubs also have no real need. Newcastle seems quite logical, if he wants to leave the island maybe Spain, Italy, France or the USA again. …

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