Bernd Leno insists he won’t come to regret his move to Arsenal despite failing to make a start for his new club so far.
The German goalkeeper made 304 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen before his summer transfer to Arsenal for a reported fee of £22 million.
However, Leno has been left on the bench by new manager Unai Emery for each of the Gunners’ opening three Premier League games.
Petr Cech, the man keeping Leno out, has failed to keep a clean sheet in any of those games, conceding two goals against both Manchester City and Chelsea, and once against West Ham United.
But Leno has played down suggestions he was wrong to make the move to the Emirates.
“I am convinced my move was the right decision,” Leno told Sport Bild (via Football365). “Arsenal paid a lot of money for me, I received a good welcome.
“I won’t get crazy over this [being on the bench]. It maybe takes a few weeks or months, but my time here will come. I’d love to play straight away. But I won’t lose my patience, the coach has shown me a clear plan and I believe in it. But sure: I always want to play and as soon as possible here.
“My style of play fits Unai Emery’s idea of play. He likes a high-positioned goalkeeper, who can also initiate play.
“That’s what the coach told me before the move, and again only recently. That’s my game. Arsenal were looking for a keeper for that.”
Petr Čech had more touches (56) than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League on the opening weekend.
Thrown in at the deep end. pic.twitter.com/shkszzHYEt
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Last season Leno kept 10 clean sheets in 33 Bundesliga appearances for Leverkusen, while Cech kept 11 in 34 Premier League matches for Arsenal.
Cech has sometimes looked uncomfortable with the ball at his feet so far this term as Emery attempts to get his Arsenal side familiar with playing out from the back.
The Arsenal No.1 has, in fact, had at least 12 more touches than any other goalkeeper after three games. His 142 touches put him ahead of Jordan Pickford (130) and Hugo Lloris (129) in second and third respectively.
In terms of attempted passes, Pickford (103) is the only goalkeeper ahead of Cech (102). The Arsenal goalkeeper has completed the most (76), however, illustrating not only how much of the ball Emery’s goalkeepers are expected to see but the emphasis on playing out from the back.
Leno will be encouraged by Cech’s stats given his aforementioned style of play and will be hoping to play a part when the Gunners travel to Cardiff City on Sunday.
The post Bernd Leno: I’m convinced I won’t regret Arsenal transfer appeared first on Squawka News.
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