Bernd Leno joined Arsenal in 2018 was was Arsenal’s number one for three years. The German played 125 times for the Gunners, keeping 37 clean sheets in the process.
Bernd Leno was the Arsenal goalkeeper in one of the most difficult periods the club has ever faced, however the man between the sticks was arguably Arsenal’s best player throughout the 2020/21 season, despite the club finishing in 8th place.
Now Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno has discussed how difficult his final days as an Arsenal player was before he moved to the Premier League new boys.
Leno lost his place in the Arsenal team after the Gunners added Aaron Ramsdale to their squad at the start of the 2021/22 season. The German only made four Premier League in his final season in North London.
To go from 35 Premier League appearances the season before to sitting on the bench for nearly an entire campaign must be a big shock to the system.
Matt Turner then arrived in the summer, which forced Bernd Leno out of the club and across the river to Craven Cottage.
The ex-Bayer Leverkusen man said to Kicker via Sport Witness:
“Last year at Arsenal was the first time in my career that I only played ten competitive games in a season. But I found my form and my rhythm relatively quickly at Fulham and performed well.
It was very hard, but I knew it was no use feeling sorry for myself. So, I kept working hard on myself. I didn’t do anything wrong at Arsenal and they could always rely on me in my three years as number 1.
It was a change of club, not an escape. The situation was that the club had said they wanted to continue with young players.”
