As a goalkeeper for Arsenal, Bernd Leno has only made four appearances in the Premier League this season. The German, on the other hand, is an excellent goalkeeper. So this is tough for him.
Even Aaron Ramsdale is well aware of this. Ramsdale replaced Leno as Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper in September. The latter’s few appearances since then have been due to his superior’s outstanding play, not to his own inadequacies.
The former Bayer Leverkusen great is far from being a mediocre goalkeeper, as he reminded his Arsenal colleagues during a training session on Wednesday.
On their official Twitter account, the Gunners posted a video of the training. In it, Leno can be seen making a spectacular finger-tip save to keep an Emile Smith Rowe header out of the net. Although there is a lot of applause in appreciation of the save, Ramsdale’s response says it all.
When the save is made, the former Sheffield United goalkeeper can be seen beaming and placing his hands on his head, almost as if he is in amazement.
Is Leno disappearing from Arsenal?
In a word, without a doubt. Leno will be leaving Arsenal for a variety of reasons. The first of which is financial. First and foremost, he is simply too talented to be warming the bench for Mikel Arteta every week next season. Secondly, the North Londoners have signed Matt Turner from Major League Soccer this summer. Thus, they are signalling that they want to trade for the German international in the future.
Getting set for Southampton ✅
📺 Our latest training edit has just dropped 👇#SOTARS
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 13, 2022
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Arteta and Edu would not have signed Turner — a USA international – as a third-choice player. This strongly shows that Leno is on his way out of Arsenal.
Aaron Ramsdale and Leno’s bond:
On the other hand, Leno stated that the relegation had left him feeling “bitter,” since he had been relegated to infrequent appearances in cup competitions and when Ramsdale was unavailable in the Premier League. His most recent appearance in the Premier League came during the victory against Aston Villa earlier this month. When Leno stepped in to replace an injured teammate.
The former Bayer Leverkusen midfielder did not disappoint. Thus, retaining a spotless record in the Midlands. No one was happier for the former Bayer Leverkusen player than Ramsdale himself. The following celebrations brought him onto the Villa Park field in front of the away end to congratulate Leno on a job well done.
“He wanted to be here to support Bernd, which tells you a lot about a lot of things that were going on behind the scenes,” Arteta said after the triumph.
And it seems that the favourable environment has persisted, as Ramsdale is once again taken aback by Leno’s shot-blocking abilities on the court.
