Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno deserves sympathy because of the lack of quality in front of him, according to former Marseille and Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino.
Leno, 26, shipped five in his last away outing with the Gunners against Liverpool, but the 26-year-old German was not helped by the players in front of him, especially with two penalties given away.
Who’s to blame for Arsenal’s poor defending? Five key things to know…
- Bernd Leno replaced Petr Cech as Arsenal’s number one goalkeeper in late September.
- The German has conceded 21 goals in 14 Premier League games so far this season, including five against Liverpool on Saturday.
- Leno also has the second-lowest save percentage of any goalkeeper in the top half of the Premier League table (66.67%).
- Two of Liverpool’s goals came from penalties, however, conceded by Sokratis and Sead Kolasinac.
- And collectively Arsenal have made more defensive errors leading to shots than any Premier League team.
Cascarino has expressed confusion over Arsenal’s approach to defending against Liverpool while admitting reservations about the Gunners’ goalkeeper. However, he does feel Leno deserves sympathy.
“I’m still unsure about Bernd Leno, the goalkeeper, too, but I feel sorry for him when you consider the lack of quality in front of him,” Cascarino told the Times.
“He deserves to be given some time to settle and may improve in his second season.
“Normally when you have a really bad back four the goalkeeper can excel and produce saves, such as David De Gea at Manchester United, but that has not been the case with Leno.
“He looked anxious from the start, put under pressure by Liverpool’s front line, and he often gave the ball away trying to pass out from the back.”
Leno a “million miles” ahead of Cech?
Leno has only kept one clean sheet this season in 13 full appearances and is statistically the worst-performing goalkeeper among the ‘Big Six’ clubs. The German only makes 1.41 saves per goal, has conceded 21, and has a 66.7% claim success rate. He has also made errors in games against Liverpool, Cardiff City and Manchester City.
Despite this, Leno has played well at times, most notably in his side’s win over Bournemouth earlier in the campaign. Former Gunner Paul Merson was very complimentary of the goalkeeper after that showing and didn’t give Petr Cech much of a chance of getting back into the side.
“He is doing really well, isn’t he?” Merson said on Sky Sports last month.
“He looks a good goalkeeper, he looks like he’s got a good temperament as well. He’s made some great saves.
“They’re always out of danger, he doesn’t gamble, he doesn’t go ‘oh I think he’s going to hit it there’. That’s reading the game to the highest level. He’s been outstanding, absolutely outstanding.
“There was talk when Cech got fit, people were wondering if he would come back in. But now you’re thinking that’s a million miles away at the moment. A million miles away.”
The post Should we “feel sorry” for Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno? appeared first on Squawka News.
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